NAHB Finds 48,800 Lost Jobs Hit Residential Construction Hardest in Rural and Smaller U.S. Markets
Updated
Updated · Eye on Housing · Jul 7
NAHB Finds 48,800 Lost Jobs Hit Residential Construction Hardest in Rural and Smaller U.S. Markets
1 articles · Updated · Eye on Housing · Jul 7
Summary
Residential construction employment lost a net 48,800 jobs over the past 12 months, marking a 15th straight annual decline as high rates, affordability strains and slower building activity weighed on hiring.
County-level BLS data for December 2025 still showed home building carries an outsized local jobs role in rural and smaller markets, where residential construction makes up a larger employment share than it does nationally.
Western counties were most concentrated: 74.6% posted location quotients above 1.0, with Wyoming at 2.94 and Utah at 2.88, while Louisiana led the below-national group with 97.1% of counties under 1.0.
By NAHB's geography index, non-metro and micro counties had the highest average concentration at 1.48, while large metro outlying counties had the biggest share above the national level at 57.8%; large metro cores were lowest at 0.81.
The pattern underscores that diversified big-city labor markets are less dependent on home building, while rural communities and outer suburbs remain more exposed to housing-cycle slowdowns.