On June 26, 2026, JGM announced the addition of three accomplished industry leaders to its executive team. The appointments of Brian M. Jones PMP as vice president of business development; Amy DePaoli as director of marketing; and Garrick Weaver SPHR SHRM-SCP as director of talent acquisition and workforce development reflect the company’s commitment to building the infrastructure needed to become a nationally recognized force in industrial construction.

Jones joins JGM with more than 20 years of experience driving revenue expansion and market positioning across the industrial engineering, procurement and construction sectors. A strategic growth leader with a hands-on technical foundation, he brings a rare combination of full-cycle capture planning, competitive intelligence and deep client relationship management having served key markets in pulp and paper, refining, chemicals, metals and power.

DePaoli brings more than two decades of marketing leadership experience spanning logistics, food and beverage, retail and consumer brands. She has a demonstrated history of building marketing functions from the ground up, driving measurable growth, and establishing compelling brand identities for companies navigating rapid expansion.

A Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and SHRM Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP), Weaver is a trusted HR leader with extensive experience building scalable hiring pipelines, designing workforce development programs and cultivating high-performance cultures across complex, multisite organizations including manufacturing, utilities and professional services.

Sebastien Roussotte Announced as New Achilles CEO

On June 30, 2026, Achilles announced the appointment of Sebastien Roussotte as chief executive officer, effective immediately. He succeeds interim CEO Craig Rodgerson, who will return to his role as chairman of the Achilles board.

S&B Receives Gold Safety Excellence Award From Industry Business Roundtable 

On July 07, 2026, S&B received a Gold Safety Excellence Award in the General Contractor Extra Large category from the Industry Business Roundtable for its work on the ExxonMobil Baytown Olefins Plant2X Expansion Project. The team was recognized at an industry event in May.  The award recognizes S&B’s commitment to maintaining the highest standards of safety performance while delivering complex projects in the Texas Gulf Coast region. Presented as part of the 2025–2026 Safety Excellence Awards program, the recognition highlights organizations that demonstrate exceptional safety leadership, continuous improvement and a strong culture of workplace safety.

Wesco Announces Alex Piwoschuk as U.S. Central Leader for Construction

On July 9, 2026, Wesco International announced that Alex Piwoschuk has joined the company as vice president of sales for U.S. Construction in the Central region. This role will be instrumental in developing the strategic direction to deliver industry-leading construction services and expertise to help manage customers’ most complex and demanding projects.

New Edge Contractors Expands Leadership Team to Support Continued Growth

On July 10, 2026, New Edge Contractors expanded its leadership team to strengthen the organizational capacity behind continued growth across its two disciplines: construction management and resource management. The transition formalizes the executive responsibilities of co-founders Mike Clay and John Wiegand. Clay has assumed the role of chief executive officer, providing enterprise leadership, long-term strategic direction and accountability for the company’s organizational growth. Wiegand has assumed the role of chief development officer, leading development strategy, client relationships, market expansion and new business opportunities.

Skanska USA Building Establishes Digital Transformation and Solutions Team to Expand the Use of AI Across the Business

On July 14, 2026, Skanska announced the formation of its digital transformation and solutions team, a move to scale AI and technology to continue enhancing project delivery. The group unites Skanska’s data solutions, emerging tech and AI capabilities to turn project knowledge into practical tools that support project teams and broader business priorities. Durham-based executive Will Senner has been appointed senior vice president, digital transformation and solutions to lead the team.

Swinerton Announces Leadership Promotions to Support Growth in Southern California Education and Healthcare Markets

On July 14, 2026, Swinerton Builders has promoted David Cramp and Brian Holley to vice president and division manager roles, strengthening the company’s leadership in two of Southern California’s most active construction sectors: education and healthcare. Cramp has been named vice president, division manager, K-14 Education–Southern California; Holley has been promoted to vice president, division manager, Healthcare–Southern California.

Branch Announces Key Executive Appointments to Strengthen Enterprise Growth

On July 14, 2026, Branch has announced key executive leadership appointments to strengthen long-term growth, business development, pursuit strategy and operational excellence. 

Brian Quinlan has been appointed executive vice president, strategic growth. In this new role, Quinlan will focus on where Branch should grow and help Branch create a roadmap the ensures our future.

Mike Colbert has been appointed executive vice president, enterprise pursuits. This role will serve as the accountable executive for all major pursuits. Colbert will oversee enterprise pursuit governance, estimating practices, pricing strategy, pipeline governance, win/loss analytics, and aligns preconstruction and operations. 

Brian Evans will take the lead of Branch Civil as executive vice president. Evans’ career in the heavy/highway construction industry spans over two decades. He has directly managed both state and federal highway projects in the Commonwealth of Virginia, with experience in both roadway and bridge construction.

Manhattan Construction Company Announces North Texas Leadership Appointments to Support Diverse, Complex Project Portfolio

On July 16, 2026, Manhattan Construction Company announced a series of leadership appointments and role confirmations in its Dallas-area regional office, strengthening the team responsible for delivering a growing portfolio of complex construction projects across North Texas. The leadership team’s new appointments include Travis Porter as Dallas regional leader, Jason Dunnam as operations manager, Anthony Wright as general superintendent and Kevin Gass as project director. 

Porter was promoted to Manhattan Construction Company’s Dallas regional leader, recognizing his proven ability to lead people, projects and operations across one of the company’s most active and complex markets. Porter has more than 15 years of experience delivering high-profile construction work in North Texas. He has steadily taken on broader leadership responsibility since joining Manhattan in 2010, starting as an intern on the George W. Bush Presidential Center project on the Southern Methodist University campus. He is a graduate of Texas A&M University with a degree in construction science.

Dunnam joined Manhattan as operations manager for the Dallas regional office. Dunnam brings more than 25 years of commercial construction experience and previously served as vice president of construction at EMJ Corporation, where he led operational strategy for large, multidisciplinary teams.

Wright was promoted to general superintendent and brings more than 25 years of experience managing field operations for large, technically complex projects. His background includes professional sports facilities, commercial developments and mixed-use projects.

Gass was promoted to project director and will provide strategic oversight and leadership for project teams across the Dallas region. Gass holds a degree in civil engineering from Virginia Tech and has more than 35 years of industry experience, representing more than $5.4 billion in completed construction work.

Sims Crane & Equipment Names Mike Kuffermann as Chief Operating Officer

On July 21, 2026, Sims Crane announced the appointment of Florida native Mike Kuffermann as chief operating officer. Kuffermann brings more than 17 years of experience with Sims Crane and represents a second-generation family legacy within the organization. He began his career as an apprentice and has advanced through service operations, dispatch, outside sales and executive leadership, most recently serving as chief sales officer. The appointment reflects both his proven track record of performance and the company’s continued focus on operational excellence.

ABC Supply Interiors Opens Location in Tupelo, Mississippi

On July 22, 2026, ABC Supply Interiors, formerly L&W Supply Corporation, opened a new location at 3406 West Main Street in Tupelo, marking its second location in Mississippi. The location is managed by Andy Witt, who was promoted to branch manager in March 2026. Witt brings more than 21 years of industry experience, including 10 years with ABC Supply Interiors.

Skanska U.S. Building Operations Selects Brian Urban as Executive Vice President-General Manager for California

On July 27, 2026, Skanska announced the appointment of Brian Urban as executive vice president and general manager for its Skanska USA Building operations in California, effective immediately. In this role, Urban will oversee project operations in the state, with a focus on strengthening customer and partner relationships, growing the business and continuing to build Skanska’s reputation across the region. Urban joins a well-established local leadership team with deep roots in the San Francisco Bay Area market. The team’s relationships with clients, partners, subcontractors and community stakeholders, built over many years, remain fully in place. Urban will work closely with local leadership to continue the office’s momentum and build on the trust Skanska has established across the region.

SEE ALSO: NEW NAMES AND FACES: JUNE 2026

The post New Names and Faces: July 2026        first appeared on Construction Executive.

The problem is what comes next.

The Job They Were Promoted Into Isn’t the Job They’re Good At

When a skilled tradesperson becomes a foreman or project lead, they aren’t being asked to do more of what made them valuable. They’re often being asked to stop doing it. The work that built their reputation now belongs to someone else. Their job is to manage the person doing it.

Being good with your hands and being good with people are not the same skill. One you control directly, and the other you don’t control at all. You just influence it and hope. It can be a real jolt when this switch comes.

For a while, the excitement of the promotion carries them, but then something goes sideways and the title doesn’t help.

What Starts Going Through Their Head

It doesn’t usually hit all at once. A crew member questions a call in front of others. The new manager has to sit down with someone they used to eat lunch with and tell them their work isn’t good enough and halfway through realizes they have no idea how to have that conversation. A problem comes up that they can’t fix themselves and they sit on it too long because they’re not sure what to do.

Quietly, the doubts start. ‘Was I the best choice, or just the most convenient one?’ ‘Does the crew actually respect me, or are they going along with it?’ And then the one that tends to do the most damage: ‘What if the owner is starting to regret this?’

That last thought changes how a new manager behaves. When someone is afraid the person who promoted them is losing confidence, they stop making decisions based on what’s right and start making them based on what looks safe.

What That Looks Like in Practice

Some new managers get hard to talk to. That’s true in any industry. They start pulling rank on small things because it feels better than admitting they’re uncertain. The crew picks up on it fast, and once that dynamic sets in it’s difficult to undo.

Some stop deciding anything. Every question goes back up to the owner. It’s frustrating for everyone, and the crew figures out quickly that nobody is really running things.

Some go back to doing the work themselves. It’s where they feel capable, so that’s where they go. The crew notices a manager who doesn’t trust them, and the owner winds up paying foreman wages for tradesperson output.

The worst outcome is when a new manager goes quiet. They stop bringing problems to the owner because they’re worried that surfacing a problem will look like proof they can’t handle the job. So, issues sit. They get worse. And by the time the owner finds out, fixing them costs more than it would have, and the trust between manager and owner has taken a hit that’s hard to recover from.

None of this makes someone a bad hire. It makes them a person who was handed a genuinely hard job without much help.

The Conversation Too Many Owners Skip

The place to address all of this is before the promotion happens, not after.

Many owners offer a promotion the way they’d offer a raise. Here’s what we’re thinking, here’s what it pays, what do you say? That’s not enough. Before anything is decided, sit down and have a real conversation about what the role actually requires day to day and what’s going to be harder than it looks. And then ask the question some owners never ask. Do you actually want this?

Not every strong tradesperson wants to manage other people. Some would rather stay on the tools, do excellent work and go home. That’s a legitimate choice and a valuable one. An owner who creates room for that answer, and means it, earns real trust. An owner who never asks might end up with someone who said yes because they didn’t feel like they could say no.

If the person wants the role, be straight with them about what you’re asking. Managing people is a different job. There’s a learning curve. You’re going to be involved in helping them through it.

What That Help Actually Looks Like

A tradesperson doesn’t become skilled by reading about their trade. They work next to someone who knows what they’re doing and over time they figure it out. Bringing someone along as a manager works the same way.

The most useful thing an owner can do is connect a new field leader with someone who made this same move, someone who was once the best on a crew and worked out how to lead people without losing their respect. That person can say things no handbook can. They’ve been in the same position and they know what it actually felt like.

In a smaller company where that person doesn’t exist on staff, look outside. Another owner in a non-competing business can work, as can a contact through a local trade association. The conversation doesn’t have to happen in your building to matter.

Beyond the mentor, stop measuring a new manager’s first 90 days by project outcomes alone. The more honest measure is whether problems are getting to you before they blow up, and whether the new manager is having hard conversations instead of dodging them. If those two things are happening, the rest tends to follow.

Build in regular check-ins that aren’t performance reviews. At 30 days, keep it simple. What’s been harder than you expected? What do you need from me? You don’t have to make it a therapy session. Talk to them the same way you’d talk to anyone on your crew about a job that isn’t going quite right. At 60 days, go deeper. How is the crew responding to your direction? Where do you feel least sure of yourself? By 90 days you should be able to sit down together and have an honest read on what’s working. When you do this consistently, you’re telling your new manager that struggling out loud is okay. That changes everything about how they carry the job.

What You’re Really Investing In

A promotion handled this way does more than fill a role. It protects a job you’ve already invested in. You spent years developing that person’s skills, and a failed transition doesn’t just cost you a manager. It often costs you the worker too. Get it right and you’ve built something harder to find than a good tradesperson. You’ve built someone who can grow your crew while you’re focused on growing your business. That’s what makes it worth the extra time upfront.

The person who made that call on the way home, who felt like the years finally added up to something, they’re worth the investment. The owner who thought ahead about what comes after the good news is the one who gets to see what that person is actually capable of.

The tool belt they spent years building didn’t come with instructions. Someone showed them. This is no different.

SEE ALSO: LASTING IMPRESSION: STRATEGIZE RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION WITH THIS SECRET WEAPON

The post From Tradesperson to Project Manager: The Day the Promotion Stops Feeling Like a Win first appeared on Construction Executive.

Nonresidential construction employment increased by 19,900 positions, with gains in all three subcategories. Nonresidential specialty traded added the most jobs, increasing by 14,100 net positions. Nonresidential building and heavy and civil engineering added 3,200 and 2,600 jobs, respectively, in June.

The construction unemployment rate was 4.7% in June. Unemployment across all industries dropped to 4.2% and is 0.1 percentage point higher than one year ago.

“Today’s jobs report was full of positive signs for the nonresidential side of the industry,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “The nonresidential segment continued to add jobs in June and has grown several times faster than the economywide average over the past 12 months.

“At the same time, the supply of labor appears adequate to fuel ongoing hiring,” said Basu. “The industry’s unemployment rate rose to 4.7%, higher than in any June since 2021, and that slack took some pressure off of wage escalation. Average hourly earnings for nonmanagerial construction workers rose at the slowest pace since last September. With ABC contractors signaling ongoing hiring intentions, according to ABC’s Construction Confidence Index, it appears likely that the industry will continue to expand its employment base over the coming months.”

SEE ALSO: ABC APPLAUDS PRESIDENT TRUMP’S NOMINATION OF KEITH SONDERLING AS LABOR SECRETARY

The post Nonresidential Construction Retains Hiring Momentum in June Jobs Report first appeared on Construction Executive.

“Construction job openings rose to a 10-month high in May,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “Unfortunately, that increase likely reflects exceptional demand for certain occupations critical to data center buildouts, like electricians, rather than increased industrywide demand for labor.

“The construction hiring rate fell sharply in May and, at 3.5%, matches February’s all-time low,” said Basu. “Rising layoff activity and a falling quit rate also suggest that demand for construction labor weakened in May. Despite these signs, contractors remain optimistic about growing their staffing levels, according to ABC’s Construction Confidence Index.” 

SEE ALSO: THINKING OF AI AGENTS AS MEMBERS OF A CONSTRUCTION CREW

The post Construction Job Openings Rise to 10-Month High in May, Hiring Remains Historically Slow first appeared on Construction Executive.

Nonresidential construction employment increased by 15,700 positions, with gains in all three subcategories. Nonresidential specialty traded added the most jobs, increasing by 11,400 positions. Heavy and civil engineering and nonresidential building added 2,600 and 1,700 jobs, respectively, in May.

The construction unemployment rate was 4.1% in May. Unemployment across all industries remained unchanged at 4.3% and is also unchanged from a year ago.

“The construction industry posted healthy job gains in May, especially within the nonresidential segment,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “The industry’s recent job growth, driven by insatiable demand for data centers and ongoing growth in publicly funded construction activity, appears set to continue over the coming months. Contractors also remain broadly optimistic about growing their staffing levels over the next six months, according to ABC’s Construction Confidence Index.

“The bigger story in the May jobs report, however, is the surprising strength of the broader labor market,” said Basu. “Economywide job growth has accelerated, rising to a pace not seen since the early months of 2024, and the unemployment rate held steady at a perfectly acceptable 4.3% in May. This is an indication of broader economic resilience, albeit one that is not necessarily encouraging for the construction industry.

“The combination of a stable labor market and resurgent inflation suggests that rate hikes are now more likely than rate cuts over the next several quarters, and high borrowing costs and tight lending standards will continue to weigh on construction activity during the months ahead,” said Basu.

SEE ALSO: THE SKILLED LABOR SHORTAGE IS HIDING PROJECT COSTS

The post Nonresidential Construction Adds Healthy 15,700 Jobs in May first appeared on Construction Executive.

Most conversations focus on wage pressure, but that is only part of the story.

When teams run lean, hidden costs stack up fast. Mistakes increase. Rework grows. Decisions slow down. Skilled staff spend time hunting for information instead of managing risk and driving progress. Those losses rarely appear as a line item. Instead, they show up as eroded margins.

In construction, labor often represents 30-50% of total project cost. A small drop in productivity hits hard. Picture a five-person project team losing one hour per day searching for files, clarifying email chains or tracking down the latest drawing. That equals 1,200 hours over a year. At $100 per hour, that is $120,000 lost on one project. Multiply that across a portfolio and the impact becomes material.

The issue is not effort. It is how teams manage information.

Thin Teams Expose Broken Information Flows

When staffing levels were higher, firms absorbed inefficiency. A senior project manager knew where everything lived. An admin tracked submittals in a spreadsheet. A superintendent kept notes that filled in gaps. Since the onset of the skilled-labor shortage, that cushion has disintegrated. Today, experienced staff manage more projects. Junior team members step into complex roles earlier. Turnover disrupts continuity. Institutional knowledge leaves with departing employees.

Common breakdowns include:

• Multiple versions of the same drawing across drives and cloud platforms
• Data siloing with RFIs in one system and submittals in another
• Critical decisions buried in email threads
• Chat conversations disconnected from the formal record
• No clear log of approvals

Each breakdown forces someone to stop and search. Each search delays a decision and increases the risk of error. In a labor constrained market, that drag becomes expensive.

The Hidden Cost of Poor Audit Trails

As schedules tighten, disputes increase, delays occur, change orders grow and owners demand documentation. When questions arise, firms scramble to reconstruct the record, staff dig through inboxes and file histories and often rely on memory to fill gaps. This reactive effort consumes senior time and increases risk. Incomplete documentation weakens your position in a claim—but a structured audit trail changes the equation.

Every document revision, email, submittal and decision ties back to the project record. Time stamps and version history are captured automatically. Communication links directly to the related file or workflow.

When a dispute surfaces, the team produces a clear timeline showing what was sent, approved and revised. That traceability reduces legal exposure and saves hours of reconstruction. When one claim can erase profit, clarity protects margin.

One View of the Truth Reduces Rework

Rework remains one of the largest cost drivers in construction. Research estimates it accounts for 5 -15% of total project cost. A meaningful share ties to outdated or conflicting information. Many firms respond by pushing for a single source of truth. The idea sounds efficient. Put all project data into one system. In practice, that rarely works.

Modern projects rely on specialized tools—designers use authoring platforms; contractors rely on scheduling software; cost teams use estimating systems; field crews depend on mobile apps. Forcing all data into one repository creates friction and duplicate entries.

You do not need a single source of truth. You need a single view of the truth. A single view connects information across systems without relocating it. Documents remain in native platforms—email stays in email, field data stays in field tools. What changes is visibility.

From one interface, a project manager accesses the current drawing, related RFI, approved submittal and the email thread explaining a change. Each item links together and reflects the latest version.

This unified view reduces the risk of building from outdated plans. It shortens response times and limits miscommunication because decisions connect to documentation.

If better visibility reduces rework by 1% on a $50-million project, that equals $500,000 preserved. Information alignment functions as financial control.

Email and Chat Are Part of the Project Record

Email and chat drive daily coordination, yet many firms treat them as personal tools rather than project assets. Important decisions occur in inboxes. Clarifications happen in chat threads. Attachments circulate outside formal systems. When those conversations remain isolated, knowledge fragments. When someone leaves the company, their inbox leaves with them.

A disciplined approach captures communication as part of the overall project view. Emails link to projects. Attachments are associated with relevant drawings or workflows. Chat discussions connect to formal records when they affect scope, cost or schedule.

The benefit is continuity. New team members review prior conversations without chasing individuals. Managers see the history behind decisions. Auditors trace communication alongside approvals. Reducing dependence on individual memory strengthens resilience.

Fast Onboarding Protects Productivity

Hiring remains difficult. When firms secure talent, they need contribution fast. Traditional onboarding often means access to a shared drive and informal guidance. It takes weeks to understand where information lives. A connected project environment shortens that ramp up period.

On day one, a new hire opens a dashboard showing active RFIs, pending submittals, current drawings and recent communication. They access revision history and approvals. They search across documents and emails from one place. Instead of asking where files are stored, they focus on managing scope and schedule.

If onboarding drops from eight weeks to four, you gain a month of productive work per hire. Across multiple hires, that recovered capacity compounds.

Ease of Use Drives Adoption

Information management only works when teams use it. Field engineers and project managers operate under pressure. If a system requires heavy manual input, adoption falls. Teams revert to email and spreadsheets.

Effective platforms align with how teams work. They integrate with familiar tools. They reduce duplicate entry by syncing data across systems. They automate capture of routine activity to build a reliable audit trail.

Consistent use improves data quality. Strong data supports better decisions and resource planning across the portfolio.

Information Management Is a Labor Strategy

Labor shortages will persist. Firms must recruit and retain talent. They also must protect the productivity of existing teams.

Information management must be part of that broader strategy. A full audit trail reduces dispute risk. A single view of the truth limits rework. Integrated communication preserves institutional knowledge. Faster onboarding accelerates contribution. Ease of use drives adoption.

The objective is simple: Reduce wasted hours, protect margin and strengthen continuity.

In a market where talent is scarce and schedules are tight, firms that control information reduce hidden costs and stay competitive.

SEE ALSO: HOW EMPLOYEE OWNERSHIP EMPOWERS CONSTRUCTION WORKERS AND LOCAL COMMUNITIES

The post The Skilled Labor Shortage Is Hiding Project Costs first appeared on Construction Executive.

“This release of April data suggests that contractors are increasingly struggling to fill open positions,” said ABC chief economist Anirban Basu. “Fewer construction workers were laid off in April than in any month since the first half of 2022, and industrywide job openings, while still relatively low by historical standards, are up more than 25% over the past year.

“These dynamics likely stem from immigration policy and the shrinking number of undocumented workers, as well as acute shortages of certain trades workers, including those involved in data center construction. While contractors remain broadly optimistic about increasing their staffing levels over the next six months, according to ABC’s Construction Confidence Index, labor availability is unlikely to improve over the short term.”

SEE ALSO: NONRESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION SPENDING GROWS ON PUBLIC SECTOR STRENGTH IN APRIL

The post Construction Job Openings Increased by 25,000 in April first appeared on Construction Executive.

What Is an ESOP? 

An employee stock ownership plan is a qualified retirement benefit funded entirely by the company, not the employee. Rather than requiring workers to contribute dollars from their paychecks, the company contributes shares of its own stock into a trust on behalf of employees. Those shares accumulate over time and grow in value as the company grows. When an employee retires or leaves, they receive the vested value of their account. 

The ESOP serves a dual purpose: It cultivates unmatched retirement savings and a workplace culture built on shared investment in outcomes.  

The Retention Effect 

Competition is fierce for construction talent. An entry-level hire who leaves after two years is a net loss. The training investment walks out the door with them. 

The data on ESOP retention is specific and significant. According to the National Center for Employee Ownership, workers between the ages of 28 and 34 at employee-owned companies stayed at their jobs 53% longer than peers without ownership (5.2 years compared to 3.4 years). That is not a marginal difference, and the advantage persists over time. 

When looking at the same cohort at ages 36 to 42, the study found ESOP employees had a median tenure three years longer than their non-ESOP counterparts. Ownership does not just delay departure; it builds the kind of long-term commitment that develops careers. 

The Prairie Capital 2025 ESOP Construction Survey reinforces this at the industry level. Construction ESOP leaders specifically identified ownership culture as a primary driver of retention among long-tenured employees, underscoring the value of a genuine stake in where the company is headed. 

Retention numbers tell part of the story. What they do not capture is why employees stay. The financial stake matters, but the more durable driver is what ownership does to workplace culture. At established employee-owned firms like Messer Construction Co., which recently celebrated 35 years as an ESOP, tenures of 20 and 30 years are common. That kind of longevity does not happen by accident. It is the product of a culture where people feel invested in something larger than their next paycheck. 

Ownership Outside the Jobsite 

Employee-owned firms are embedded in the communities they build. They live, spend and raise families in the same neighborhoods where the work happens. 

That community connection also reinforces the internal ownership culture. When employees see their company investing in the places they call home, it strengthens the bond between worker and company. It is not a benefit that appears on a pay stub. It is the kind of intangible that makes people stay for decades rather than years. 

As the construction industry competes with other sectors in terms of brand perception among younger workers, an ESOP can change the equation.

According to the FMI Corporation, job search platforms like Indeed now allow candidates to filter specifically for employee-owned companies. Ownership has become a recruiting signal that younger workers actively seek. The combination of strong internal culture, visible community investment and the promise of genuine ownership is a differentiated offer that is challenging to replicate. 

Making Employee Ownership More Accessible 

The case for employee ownership in construction is clear. The barrier isn’t an aversion to change; it is access to information. Many construction business owners are unfamiliar with the mechanics of an ESOP transition, and the process can feel complex without the right technical support. 

Bipartisan policy proposals like the Promotion and Expansion of Private Employee Ownership Act address that directly. The legislation would expand technical assistance for companies considering the transition and make it easier for retiring owners to sell to their employees.  

The succession clock is running for a generation of construction business owners approaching retirement without a clear exit plan. The companies that move toward employee ownership now will be better positioned to retain skilled workers and attract the next generation.  

The Bottom Line 

Employee ownership is not a new idea. It is a proven model with decades of data behind it, already in use at some of the industry’s most durable and culture-driven firms. 

The businesses that invest in ownership today are building something that compounds over time: better retention, a stronger culture and a succession plan that does not disrupt what took decades to build.  

The workforce is the foundation. Ownership is the strategy. The two belong together. 

SEE ALSO: NAVIGATING A SUCCESSFUL ESOP TRANSITION

The post How Employee Ownership Empowers Construction Workers and Local Communities first appeared on Construction Executive.

National NSA payroll construction employment was 58,000 higher than March 2025, its 12th straight month of year-over-year increases below 100,000. Seasonally adjusted payroll construction employment was 8.3 million, or 9.3% above its pre-pandemic peak of 7.6 million. 

Estimated state construction unemployment rates were lower than their pre-pandemic (February 2020) level in 20 states. As of March 2026, 19 states had lower construction unemployment rates compared to March 2019, and 31 states had higher rates.

“The Iran war and resulting hike in energy prices are negatively affecting the construction industry, which was already struggling with insurance premium increases, escalating labor costs, shortages of skilled labor and elevated interest rates,” said Bernard Markstein, president and chief economist of Markstein Advisors, who conducted the analysis for ABC. “Consequently, some projects have been scaled back, put on hold or abandoned altogether. With slower construction activity, demand for construction workers is growing more slowly.”

Recent Month-to-Month Fluctuations

In March, the national NSA construction unemployment rate declined 0.2% from February. Among the states, 28 had lower rates, 20 states came in with higher rates and two states (Kansas and Maine) had the same estimated construction unemployment rates as in February.

The Top States

The seven states with the lowest-estimated NSA construction unemployment rates for March were:

1. Oklahoma, 2.8%
2. South Dakota, 2.9%
3. Tennessee, 3.4%
4. New Hampshire, 3.5%
5. Colorado, Hawaii and North Carolina (tie), 4.1%

South Dakota had its second-lowest March NSA estimated construction unemployment rate on record at 2.9%, behind last year’s 2.7% rate. Note that Hawaii’s unemployment rate is for construction plus mining and logging.

The Bottom States

The five states with the highest NSA construction unemployment rates in March were:

46. New Mexico, 11.7%
47. New Jersey, 12.9%
48. Minnesota, 13.2%
49. Connecticut, 14.8%
50. Rhode Island, 16.2%

Rhode Island had the largest decline in its rate from February among the states, down 3.4%. Connecticut had the third-largest monthly decline, down 2.7%.

Click here to view graphs of U.S. and state overall unemployment rates (Tab 1) and construction unemployment rates (Tab 2) showing the impact of the pandemic, including a graphing tool that creates a chart for multiple states. To better understand the basis for calculating unemployment rates and what they measure, check out the Background on State Construction Unemployment Rates.

SEE ALSO: CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS PRICES SOAR IN APRIL

The post All But Six States Had Construction Unemployment Rates Below 10% in March first appeared on Construction Executive.

“The industry’s labor market continues to be defined by an utter lack of churn,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “Construction industry hiring rebounded from February’s historically low level but remains extremely subdued. Contractors also remain reluctant to fire workers; the layoff/discharge rate fell to the slowest pace since early 2024 and is lower than at any point prior to 2022. At the same time, workers are also reluctant to quit compared to the prevailing trend of the late 2010s and early 2020s. While contractors remain confident that their staffing levels will improve this year, according to ABC’s Construction Confidence Index, these stagnant labor market dynamics suggest that the industry remains in a holding pattern, one it will not exit until economic uncertainty lessens.”

SEE ALSO: CONSTRUCTION FUTURES: APRIL 2026 ECONOMIC ROUNDUP

The post Construction Hiring Still Exceptionally Slow in March first appeared on Construction Executive.