Construction Added 11,000 Jobs in September, but the Map Is Split

U.S. nonfarm payrolls grew by just 29,000 jobs in September, down sharply from August's 133,000, according to state-level employment data analyzed by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). That's a weak national number — roughly one job for every 5,400 people in the labor force — and the state-by-state picture underneath it is even more uneven.

How did the states split?

Twenty-three states plus the District of Columbia added nonfarm jobs between August and September; 25 states lost them. The losing states collectively shed 100,100 jobs — more than triple the net national gain.

The month-over-month leaders and laggards:

• New York: +19,600 jobs, the largest gain
• New Jersey: +14,900
• South Carolina: +12,500, also the fastest rate (+0.5%)
• Wisconsin: -13,700, the largest decline (-0.4%)

Takeaway: if you're job-hunting right now, your state line matters almost as much as your industry.

What happened in construction?

Here the picture is genuinely better than the headline payroll numbers suggest. Construction — residential and non-residential combined — added a net 11,000 jobs nationwide in September. Twenty-five states gained construction jobs, 21 lost them, and four states plus D.C. stayed flat.

• Oregon posted the biggest monthly gain: +2,000 jobs
• Wisconsin posted the biggest loss: -3,300, making it the weakest state on both measures this month
• Rhode Island grew fastest in percentage terms: +2.2%
• Alaska fell hardest: -3.3%

Takeaway: construction hiring is still expanding nationally, but the work is concentrating in specific regional markets.

What does the year-over-year trend show?

Over the past 12 months, construction employment has grown by 109,000 jobs nationwide — a 1.3% gain since September 2025. That's the number that matters most for anyone weighing a move into the trades, because it shows the sector's expansion isn't a one-month blip.

The state extremes over the year:

• Louisiana led with +18,800 construction jobs, a 13.9% surge — the strongest annual growth of any state
• Georgia recorded the largest absolute loss: -4,900
• Alaska had the steepest percentage decline: -5.3%

Louisiana's 13.9% growth is more than ten times the national rate, which tells you demand for construction labor there is running far ahead of the country as a whole.

What does this mean for your market position?

Put the numbers in plain terms. If you work in construction, your leverage varies enormously by geography: a framer or electrician in Louisiana is in a market adding jobs at double-digit rates, while one in Georgia or Alaska faces a shrinking local pool of employers. Even within a single month, the gap between Oregon (+2,000) and Wisconsin (-3,300) spans more than 5,000 jobs across just two states.

The September figures come from NAHB's analysis of state-level employment data, and monthly state numbers are based on smaller survey samples than the national series — so individual state readings, especially the percentage moves in small states like Rhode Island and Alaska, carry wider error margins and are subject to revision.

The sector's 109,000-job annual gain suggests construction hiring should keep outpacing the broader labor market, but September's 25 losing states are a reminder that the recovery in hiring remains geographically patchy rather than broad-based.