$2.203T
Total construction spending
The Census Bureau's preliminary August 2026 annual rate for public and private construction combined.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Construction Spending, August 2026 preliminary annual ratesConstruction industry fact sheet
U.S. construction
industry statistics.
A current, sourced snapshot of construction spending, workforce size, and the businesses that keep the industry moving.
Last updated November 5, 2026
The numbers behind the work
A reference for the business side of construction.
Construction decisions carry real weight. A bid, a payroll commitment, a material order, or a new hire all land inside a much larger market. These figures put that work in context using current federal data.
Every statistic below links to its original source and states the month or period it covers. The establishment-size percentages are calculated from the published count of construction establishments in each size range.
Key statistics
The current picture.
$1.655T
Private construction spending
Private residential and nonresidential construction at the preliminary August 2026 annual rate.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Construction Spending, August 2026 preliminary annual rates$547.8B
Public construction spending
Government construction at the preliminary August 2026 annual rate.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Construction Spending, August 2026 preliminary annual rates8.364M
Construction employees
People employed in construction, based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics' preliminary September 2026 estimate.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Situation, September 2026 preliminary employment, hours, and earnings$39.20
Average hourly earnings: production and nonsupervisory construction employees
Average hourly earnings for production and nonsupervisory construction employees in the preliminary September 2026 estimate.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Situation, September 2026 preliminary employment, hours, and earnings$1,568
Average weekly earnings: production and nonsupervisory construction employees
Average weekly earnings for production and nonsupervisory construction employees in the preliminary September 2026 estimate.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Situation, September 2026 preliminary employment, hours, and earnings2.940M
Nonresidential specialty trade employees
Construction employment in nonresidential specialty trade contractors in the preliminary September 2026 estimate.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Situation, September 2026 preliminary employment, hours, and earnings953,703
Private construction establishments
Private-sector construction establishments reported for the first quarter of 2026.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Establishments by Employment Size, March 2026 establishment counts82.8%
Establishments with fewer than 10 employees
Golden's calculation from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' March 2026 construction establishment-size counts.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Establishments by Employment Size, March 2026 establishment counts91.4%
Establishments with fewer than 20 employees
Golden's calculation from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' March 2026 construction establishment-size counts.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Establishments by Employment Size, March 2026 establishment countsWhat this means for contractors
Most construction establishments are small teams carrying big decisions.
The size of the market does not make the day-to-day work simpler. Most construction establishments have fewer than 20 employees, where one delayed payment, an inaccurate job-cost number, or a material overrun can change the month quickly.
That is why clear books matter. Current reporting gives a business owner a better view of what each job is asking from cash, labor, materials, and the next decision.
See Golden's contractor approach →Methodology and sources
Where these figures come from.
Construction spending
The three spending figures are preliminary, seasonally adjusted annual rates reported by the U.S. Census Bureau for August 2026.
Read the Census Bureau construction spending dataEmployment and earnings
Employment, earnings, and nonresidential specialty trade employment come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' September 2026 Employment Situation release, marked preliminary by the agency.
Read the Bureau of Labor Statistics construction industry dataBusiness size
Establishment counts come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' March 2026 size table. The percentages combine the published construction counts below 10 employees and below 20 employees, then divide each by the total of 953,703 private construction establishments.
Read the Bureau of Labor Statistics establishment-size dataGolden Bookkeeping, Richardson, Texas
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