Construction jobs rise in most US regions; Durable goods orders decline

April’s construction employment increased from a year earlier in more than half of the nation’s metropolitan regions, but contractors face lingering challenges finding qualified workers and dealing with economic uncertainties affecting material costs.

Citing government data, the Associated General Contractors of America said industry jobs rose from April 2024 in 184 out of 360 tracked regions. Construction employment declined in 120 regions and was unchanged in 56.

“Demand for infrastructure, public facilities, and data centers is helping boost construction employment in many parts of the country,” said Macrina Wilkins, the trade group’s senior research associate, in a statement Wednesday. “But that demand has not been enough to offset labor shortages and broader economic uncertainty in many other parts of the country.”

The association said Virginia’s Arlington-Alexandria region added the most construction jobs from the prior year with 7,700 for a 9% gain. California’s Inland Empire, including Riverside and San Bernardino, had the steepest annual decline at 6,000 for a 5% drop.

Orders for durable goods, which often affect demand for industrial and retail real estate, declined for the fourth straight month in April as consumers and businesses remained skittish about big-ticket purchases.

The Commerce Department reported $296.3 billion in new April orders for durable goods, which are meant to last more than three years and include home appliances, computers and other business equipment. That was down 6.3% from March, driven largely by a 17.1% drop in orders for transportation equipment.

“Durable goods orders in April didn’t decline as much as anticipated, but the underlying trend in equipment demand is weak amid policy uncertainty and a fading boost from tariff front-loading in certain sectors,” Bernard Yaros, lead U.S. economist for Oxford Economics, said in a statement.

He said the forecasting firm expects business equipment spending to decline sharply when full second-quarter numbers are tallied, with tariff-related uncertainty to keep investment muted during the second half of 2025.