Construction Added 13K Jobs in March, But Economists See Tariff Trouble Ahead

Building skilled an total estimated jobs achieve of 13,000 in March, in line with the Bureau of Labor Statistics‘ newest month-to-month report, however trade economists reacted with fear that tariffs introduced April 2 by President Trump will stall trade employment development in future months.

Whereas first describing the newest month-to-month knowledge as a “completely advantageous jobs report,” Related Builders and Contractors’ economist Anirban Basu acknowledged by way of press release that “March’s labor market knowledge is a lesser concern in mild of the sweeping tariffs introduced on April 2. What quantities to the biggest tax hike since 1968 will scale back building exercise because of rising enter prices, shaken enterprise confidence and doubtlessly higher-for-longer rates of interest.”

Equally, Ken Simonson, chief economist for Related Normal Contractors of America, appreciated the constructive jobs development, noting that “Contractors added workers at a quicker clip than different sectors in March, as pay for building craft employees outpaced wages for manufacturing employees within the total personal sector.”

“Nevertheless,” Simonson added, “as steep new tariffs and overseas nations’ retaliatory measures take impact, constructing prices will rise and initiatives might be placed on maintain, posing a menace to employment.”

Moreover, Basu famous building’s slowed tempo of hiring to start out the yr, commenting, “With downward revisions to the January and February numbers, the trade added simply 8,000 jobs monthly in the course of the first quarter of 2025. Building employment is up simply 1.8% since March 2024, the slowest year-over-year development in 4 years.”

The Job Numbers

General, building employment in March totaled 8,313,000, seasonally adjusted, a rise of 13,000 from February, in line with BLS.

Constructing contractors added 2,700 positions total, the results of residential contractors hiring an estimated 3,100 new employees, whereas nonresidential constructing contractors reporting a decline of 400 positions.

In the meantime, specialty commerce contractors added an estimated 6,400 jobs total in March. Nevertheless, it was an up-and-down month for specialty trades, with non-residential companies including 19,300 jobs, and residential specialty contractors shedding 12,900 positions.

Rounding out the info, BLS reported that heavy and civil building companies added an estimated 3,400 positions.