Construction wage growth cools to 3.0% in latest employment cost data

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics published its Employment Cost Index for the third quarter of 2026 on Friday 30 October. Across private industry, wages and salaries rose 3.1% in the 12 months to September, down from 3.6% a year earlier. Total compensation, including benefits, was up 3.4%.

Construction has slowed the most

Wages and salaries in the construction industry rose 3.0% over the year, against 4.1% in the 12 months to September 2025. That is a sharper slowdown than for private industry as a whole and leaves construction pay growth fractionally below the private-sector average. Manufacturing wages rose 3.1%, the same pace as private industry overall and down from 3.6%.

Trades occupations are still ahead

Looking by occupation rather than industry gives a different picture. Wages for the construction, extraction, farming, fishing and forestry group were up 3.8%, a little below the 4.1% of a year earlier but still well ahead of the average. Production occupations rose 3.5%, slightly faster than the 3.4% recorded a year before. Installation, maintenance and repair roles rose 3.2%, down from 4.0%.

The gap between the industry and occupation figures is worth noting. The industry measure covers everyone employed by construction firms, including office, sales and management staff, while the occupation measure tracks the trades themselves wherever they work.

Union pay still leads

Union workers in private industry saw wages rise 4.3% over the year, compared with 3.0% for non-union workers. Both were lower than a year earlier, at 4.8% and 3.5% respectively.

Real pay

The BLS also noted that, adjusted for inflation, private-sector wages and salaries fell 0.6% over the year. For workers weighing a move, that matters: a modest raise from a current employer may feel like a pay cut, which makes a well-pitched external offer more persuasive.

The bigger picture

The data sits alongside a labour market that still looks tight for skilled site staff. Associated Builders and Contractors' state analysis, published the same day, put national construction unemployment at 3.5% in September. Slower overall pay growth with low unemployment suggests employers are being more selective: paying up for the trades and leaders they cannot do without, and holding the line elsewhere. The ECI measures average change, so individual hard-to-fill roles can move much faster than the index.