Why Contractors Still Can’t Find Workers in 2026 (And What’s Going Wrong)

Commercial and industrial pipelines are strong heading into 2026. Data center construction is booming, healthcare projects keep breaking ground, and infrastructure funding is flowing. Yet jobsites across the country are missing the project superintendents, foremen, and project managers needed to run them.

If you’ve raised pay, posted jobs on every platform you can think of, and still can’t hire, you’re not alone. But here’s the uncomfortable truth: the construction labor shortage isn’t the only reason you can’t fill roles. Internal execution problems are usually blocking hires first. If you want to fix that process, here’s how to hire construction workers correctly.

This article is a diagnostic of construction hiring problems—not a macroeconomic explainer. We’re focused on what hiring managers and owners can actually control in 2026. At The Birmingham Group, we work both sides of this equation: contractors with solid backlogs who still lose candidates because of preventable hiring mistakes, and construction professionals who walk away from opportunities that looked promising on paper. If you’re actively searching now, you can also review current openings on our construction jobs board.

The next sections unpack the most common ways the construction hiring process breaks—timing, pay, speed, and scope—then point toward actionable fixes.

The Real Reason Hiring Feels Harder Than It Should

The 2026 contractor backlog remains strong in sectors like data centers, power, and healthcare. Nonresidential specialty trade contractors have added 95,000 jobs since August 2024. The demand is there. So why do field leadership roles remain chronically open?

The paradox is straightforward: projects keep coming, but hiring systems haven’t evolved since 2018–2019. Those systems were built for a looser labor market. They don’t work when the construction workforce is operating at near full employment and unemployment in the industry hovers between 5.0% and 6.9%.

Many general contractors and project owners are winning work six to twelve months out, yet they still wait until award or mobilization to think about hiring a project superintendent or construction project manager. That lag is killing them.

Talent is moving in 2026. Experienced workers—supers, PMs, estimators—are changing companies for better compensation, company culture, and career paths. They’re just not waiting through slow, unclear hiring processes to do it.

Subcontractors and competitors who modernize their construction recruiting are landing the same limited candidates you’re chasing. They offer:

• Clear role definitions from day one
• Fast decisions after interviews
• Market-aligned pay packages

The rest of this article walks through the most common internal construction recruitment issues we see at The Birmingham Group in 2025–2026—and what you can do about them.

Mistake 1: Hiring Starts Too Late

Picture this: a general contractor wins a $60 million commercial construction project in Q2 2026. Then they scramble four to six weeks before mobilization to hire a project superintendent and project manager.

By the time HR posts the job and resumes arrive, the best candidates are already deep in processes elsewhere. In a market where hundreds of thousands of workers are needed annually just to replace retirements, you can’t afford to start late.

What happens when you wait until award or mobilization:

• Compressed timelines force rushed decisions
• Internal staff get stretched across multiple jobsites
• Project schedules slip before work even begins
• Notice-to-proceed staffing gets delayed

High-caliber supers and PMs usually have multiple options and 30-day or longer notice periods. If you start trying to hire after preconstruction is already underway, you’re late.

Late-start hiring also damages your employer brand. Candidates see disorganization when a company repeatedly calls with “urgent” hires for jobs starting in two weeks. That pattern signals chaos—not opportunity.

The fix: Plan hiring in parallel with pursuit and preconstruction phases. Build a talent pipeline months ahead for critical roles like project superintendent, senior project manager, and estimator. From our perspective at The Birmingham Group, early alignment calls with hiring managers—before final award—consistently lead to better jobsite leadership coverage by day one.

Mistake 2: Pay Expectations Don’t Match the Market

A contractor budgets 2019 salary levels for a 2026 project superintendent in Texas, Florida, or the Carolinas. Then they wonder why offers keep getting declined.

Many construction hiring problems stem from outdated compensation assumptions. Internal ranges haven’t kept pace with 2022–2026 wage inflation. The broader economy has shifted, and the construction industry faces 6–8% annual wage hikes in 2026 alone.

Common compensation mistakes:

• Using cost-of-living logic instead of market-demand logic
• Ignoring sign-on bonuses competitors offer
• Assuming candidates will accept 10–15% below market to “grow with the company”
• Relying on bad data or salary ranges from several years ago

Misaligned pay sends signals. Candidates interpret low or rigid offers as a sign the company undervalues field leadership—and may also underinvest in crews, safety, or equipment.

The time factor matters too. In 2026, top supers and PMs often receive acceptable offers within five to seven days of first interview. If you come in with a weak offer after a long process, it’s usually too late.

The fix: Use current construction salary survey data—including The Birmingham Group’s annual surveys—or benchmark with the construction salary guide. Hiring managers can also download the latest benchmarks from the construction salary survey before posting roles.

You don’t have to be the absolute top payer, but you need to be in the conversation.

Mistake 3: Interviews Move Too Slowly

In 2026, serious candidates for superintendent and PM roles often move from first conversation to accepted offer in 10–14 days. Many contractors still run four to six week interview processes.

That gap is where you lose good workers to competitors.

Where construction hiring fails on speed:

• Extended internal approvals before making decisions
• Stacking unnecessary interview rounds
• Long gaps between each conversation
• Requiring separate meetings with HR, operations, preconstruction, and ownership with no consolidated feedback
• Letting a candidate sit for a week after a jobsite visit while leadership “gets on the same page”

Top candidates are not waiting. They’re talking to multiple GCs and owners. If your process stalls for more than a few days between steps, you effectively hand them to your competitors.

Slow feedback also communicates hesitation or internal misalignment. Strong candidates question how decisions will be made once they’re on a project if the company can’t make hiring decisions efficiently.

The fix: Before posting, agree internally on:

• Decision-makers (who has final say)
• Maximum number of interview rounds (two or three)
• Target timelines for feedback (24–48 hours)
• Offer timeline (within a few days of final interview)

At The Birmingham Group, we recommend calendar-blocking interview slots in advance and empowering a final decision-maker so that when a great superintendent or PM appears, the company can move immediately.

Mistake 4: Role Scope Is Too Vague

“Project Manager needed for various commercial projects.”

That’s the kind of job description that makes strong candidates hit the back button. No clarity on actual project pipeline, size, location, or team structure. No reason to leave a stable role for a fuzzy opportunity.

Ambiguity around jobsite leadership responsibilities is a major reason why construction hiring fails.

• Unclear reporting lines
• No defined authority over subcontractors
• Running multiple projects simultaneously
• No project types or value clarity
• Unknown travel expectations

The fix: Collaborate with operations and preconstruction to define a realistic role scope before recruiting.

What Contractors Who Hire Successfully Do Differently

Successful contractors treat hiring like any other critical process.

If you want detailed guidance, our hiring guide walks through exactly how to hire construction workers correctly.

If Hiring Keeps Stalling, Fix the Process First

The construction labor shortage is real. Labor challenges aren’t going away. ABC projects contractors will need 349,000 net new workers in 2026 alone, according to Associated Builders and Contractors.

If you’re a hiring leader tired of stalled searches, The Birmingham Group can help. Candidates exploring opportunities can connect through our candidate portal.

Before you assume you “just can’t find workers,” fix the hiring process.