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U.S. construction employment is projected to rise from about 8.27 million jobs in 2025 to 8.68 million in 2035, a net gain of 410,700, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics projections analyzed by the NAHB. Specialty trade contractors are expected to account for about 270,600 added jobs, led among listed occupations by electricians. These are projections, not a count of jobs already created.
U.S. construction employment is projected to increase by 410,700 jobs between 2025 and 2035, rising from approximately 8.27 million to 8.68 million, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics projections analyzed by the National Association of Home Builders. The forecast amounts to 5% growth, faster than the projected 3.5% increase in total U.S. employment over the same period.
The estimate describes a projected net increase across the construction industry, not jobs already added or a guarantee of future hiring. The source report, published by Hardware Retailing, attributes the underlying employment projections to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the analysis to the NAHB. It does not provide a year-by-year hiring path in the supplied material.
Specialty trade contractors are projected to add 270,600 jobs, while residential building construction is projected to add 34,200. Together, the two segments would account for approximately 74% of construction’s projected net employment gain, according to the analysis. Specialty trades include work such as electrical, plumbing, heating and air conditioning, and roofing.
Among occupations listed in the projections, electricians employed by specialty trade contractors are expected to record the largest increase, with 65,700 additional jobs from 2025 to 2035. Heating, air conditioning and refrigeration mechanics and installers are projected to add 40,900 jobs, construction laborers 34,800, and plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters 27,900. These occupation figures describe projected gains within the specified industry segments, rather than the entire construction workforce.
Specialty Trades Lead Projected Hiring
If the forecast is realized, construction employment would grow faster over the decade than employment across the U.S. labor market overall. The projected concentration of gains in specialty trade contractors points to continued demand for occupations that install, maintain or support building systems and other specialized work.
The occupational estimates also indicate that projected growth is not limited to hands-on trades. In residential building construction, laborers are projected to add 13,900 jobs and carpenters 8,100, while construction managers are projected to add 5,100 and project management specialists 1,700. Within specialty contractors, supervisory and management roles are also expected to expand: first-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers are projected to gain 17,300 jobs, and construction managers 11,200.
For people considering construction careers, employers, training providers and businesses supplying building projects, the forecast offers a long-range indication of where employment growth may be concentrated. It does not establish whether employers will find enough workers, what wages will be, or whether demand will be evenly distributed across regions.
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Where the Ten-Year Forecast Comes From
The figures cover a 2025–2035 projection period and compare expected construction-industry employment at the beginning and end of that period. The NAHB analyzed BLS projections, and Hardware Retailing reported the resulting estimate. The projected 5% construction increase is compared in the source with a 3.5% projected increase in total U.S. employment over the same decade.
The forecast separates the industry into segments, including residential building construction and specialty trade contractors, and also breaks out selected occupations. The distinction matters: the 270,600 projected jobs in specialty trade contracting are an industry-segment estimate, while figures such as 65,700 for electricians refer to a particular occupation within that segment. The source material does not provide comparable detailed estimates for every construction subsector or occupation.
Forecast Limits and Missing Detail
The figures are projections rather than observed outcomes. The source material does not specify the assumptions behind the estimates, explain how economic or policy changes could affect them, or offer a range showing uncertainty around the 2035 total. Actual employment may differ as construction demand and the broader economy change.
It is also unclear from the supplied report how projected gains will be distributed by state, what share of positions would be new openings versus replacements, or how the figures account for changes in productivity and workforce availability. No wage, vacancy, or training-capacity estimates are included, so the job-growth forecast alone cannot show how readily employers will fill the projected roles.
Tracking Employment Through 2035
The next measure will be how actual employment develops relative to the 2025 baseline of approximately 8.27 million jobs. BLS employment data and later revisions to its projections can show whether construction is tracking toward the estimated 8.68 million jobs in 2035. The report does not identify a specific follow-up publication date or an interim hiring target.
Readers assessing the forecast should distinguish future projection updates from observed job counts and pay attention to the separate construction segments and occupations. Any later figures should be compared using the same time period and industry definitions; the current estimate by itself does not establish what hiring will look like in a particular year or location.
Key Questions
How many construction jobs are projected to be added by 2035?
The projection is a net gain of 410,700 jobs from 2025 to 2035, taking employment from about 8.27 million to 8.68 million.
Which part of construction is projected to add the most jobs?
Specialty trade contractors are projected to add 270,600 jobs, the largest segment gain listed in the analysis. Residential building construction is projected to add 34,200.
Which occupation has the largest listed projected gain?
Electricians in specialty trade contracting are projected to gain 65,700 jobs between 2025 and 2035, according to the figures reported.
Are the projected jobs guaranteed?
No. These are BLS projections analyzed by the NAHB, not jobs already created or a guarantee of future employment. Actual hiring may differ from the forecast.
Source: hardwareretailing.com
