Construction spending climbed 7.1% in 2022 to $1.69 trillion, signaling continued expansion across the U.S. sector. Pay has followed that momentum, with average hourly earnings rising 8.1% year over year in 2024. At the same time, construction productivity fell 1.2% versus 2021, so margins face pressure from both labor dynamics and costs.
Key Takeaways
- 7.1% increase in construction spending in 2022 (from the prior year), reaching $1.69 trillion—annual growth for the U.S. construction sector
- $9.7 billion in average weekly earnings in construction in 2023—labor compensation magnitude measured by the value of construction jobs’ weekly wages aggregate
- 5.0% unemployment rate reported for construction workers (annual average, 2023)—labor market tightness specific to construction
- In 2022, U.S. construction accounted for 6.7% of total U.S. employment—industry employment share
- 28% of construction firms reported using drones for at least part of their work (2022)—UAV/drone adoption in construction
- Construction AR/VR investments were projected to grow at a CAGR of 30% from 2023 to 2030—growth expectation in immersive tech segment
- Construction 3D printing is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 35% from 2024 to 2030—growth rate expectation
- Construction labor productivity decreased by 2.3% in 2021 (output per hour)—output per hour change
- 5.0% average annual price increase for building materials from 2021 to 2022 (index-based measure)—cost inflation for key inputs
- 9.1% year-over-year increase in Producer Price Index for construction materials in April 2022—input cost inflation rate
- 31% of construction firms cited labor shortages as a top constraint (2023 survey)—primary industry constraint
- 4.2% year-over-year growth in private construction starts in 2023 (value basis)—trend in construction activity
- 8.7% decline in building permits for residential construction in early 2023 (year-over-year)—indicator of future residential construction activity
- 24% of construction firms report using drones for site progress or inspections (2023 survey) — measures UAV/drone adoption prevalence
- $1.0 billion+ average annual losses from fraud for large construction firms (survey, 2022) — measures financial impact from fraud risk
In 2022 construction spending rose to $1.69 trillion, despite labor shortages and higher material costs.
Related reading
01 · Category
Market Size1 stats
01
7.1% increase in construction spending in 2022 (from the prior year), reaching $1.69 trillion—annual growth for the U.S. construction sector
Interpretation
Market Size Interpretation
In the Market Size category, U.S. construction spending rose 7.1% in 2022 to $1.69 trillion, showing steady expansion in the size of the construction market year over year.
02 · Category
Labor & Wages6 stats
01
$9.7 billion in average weekly earnings in construction in 2023—labor compensation magnitude measured by the value of construction jobs’ weekly wages aggregate
02
5.0% unemployment rate reported for construction workers (annual average, 2023)—labor market tightness specific to construction
03
In 2022, U.S. construction accounted for 6.7% of total U.S. employment—industry employment share
04
$33.45average hourly wage for construction laborers in 2023—mean hourly wage level
05
8.1% year-over-year increase in average hourly earnings for construction workers in 2024 (BLS)—wage growth rate
06
Construction had 2.6 million quits in 2023—labor mobility measure
Interpretation
Labor & Wages Interpretation
In 2023 construction workers saw strong wage conditions with average weekly earnings of $9.7 billion and a $33.45 average hourly wage, alongside a 5.0% unemployment rate, showing that labor and wages in the U.S. construction sector remained relatively tight even as earnings were set to rise further in 2024 with an 8.1% year over year increase in average hourly earnings.
03 · Category
Technology & Productivity4 stats
01
28% of construction firms reported using drones for at least part of their work (2022)—UAV/drone adoption in construction
02
Construction AR/VR investments were projected to grow at a CAGR of 30% from 2023 to 2030—growth expectation in immersive tech segment
03
Construction 3D printing is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 35% from 2024 to 2030—growth rate expectation
04
48% of construction executives reported using prefabrication/modular methods for at least some projects (2022 survey)—adoption prevalence
Interpretation
Technology & Productivity Interpretation
With 28% of U.S. construction firms already using drones and technology investments in areas like AR/VR expected to grow at a 30% CAGR, the industry is clearly embracing Technology and Productivity tools, further reinforced by prefabrication adoption at 48% and rapid momentum in 3D printing projected to rise 35% CAGR from 2024 to 2030.
04 · Category
Productivity & Costs3 stats
01
Construction labor productivity decreased by 2.3% in 2021 (output per hour)—output per hour change
02
5.0% average annual price increase for building materials from 2021 to 2022 (index-based measure)—cost inflation for key inputs
03
9.1% year-over-year increase in Producer Price Index for construction materials in April 2022—input cost inflation rate
Interpretation
Productivity & Costs Interpretation
In the U.S. construction industry, productivity and costs moved in the wrong direction in 2021 and 2022, with labor productivity down 2.3% while building materials costs rose 5.0% from 2021 to 2022 and construction materials’ producer prices surged 9.1% year over year in April 2022.
More related reading
05 · Category
Industry Trends8 stats
01
31% of construction firms cited labor shortages as a top constraint (2023 survey)—primary industry constraint
02
4.2% year-over-year growth in private construction starts in 2023 (value basis)—trend in construction activity
03
8.7% decline in building permits for residential construction in early 2023 (year-over-year)—indicator of future residential construction activity
04
63% of construction firms report experiencing at least one cybersecurity incident in the last 12 months (survey, 2023)—incident prevalence
05
Construction safety fatalities were 1,061 in 2022—count of workplace fatalities in construction
06
Construction had an incidence rate of 3.7 recordable nonfatal injuries per 100 full-time workers in 2022—injury rate magnitude
07
Workers compensation losses in construction were $5.2 billion in 2022 (NAIC measure)—loss magnitude
08
2.1 million nonfarm private construction jobs in May 2024 (employment level estimate) — measures job count in construction
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
For this Industry Trends snapshot, the most striking signal is that construction is facing mounting operational strain and risk at the same time with 31% of firms citing labor shortages and 63% reporting at least one cybersecurity incident in the past 12 months.
06 · Category
Technology Adoption1 stats
01
24% of construction firms report using drones for site progress or inspections (2023 survey) — measures UAV/drone adoption prevalence
Interpretation
Technology Adoption Interpretation
In 2023, 24% of U.S. construction firms reported using drones for site progress or inspections, showing that UAV technology adoption is gaining real foothold in construction operations.
07 · Category
Risk & Compliance4 stats
01
$1.0 billion+ average annual losses from fraud for large construction firms (survey, 2022) — measures financial impact from fraud risk
02
42% of construction firms report experiencing a data breach or security incident in the past 12 months (survey, 2023) — measures cyber incident exposure
03
19.5% of construction firms rate their compliance program as “mature” or “advanced” (2023 survey) — measures compliance program maturity
04
2.8% of construction contract value is lost to claims/changes on average (industry benchmark, 2022) — measures schedule/cost risk tied to disputes
Interpretation
Risk & Compliance Interpretation
For Risk and Compliance, the picture is clearly worsening as large construction firms face $1.0 billion+ in average annual fraud losses, 42% report a security incident in the past 12 months, and only 19.5% say their compliance programs are mature or advanced, while 2.8% of contract value is lost to claims and changes.
08 · Category
Labor & Productivity3 stats
01
$34.21average hourly earnings for construction laborers in 2024 (BLS, annual average) — measures wage level
02
1.2% decline in construction labor productivity (output per hour) in 2022 vs 2021 (industry productivity series) — measures productivity trend
03
4.6% of construction firms report using apprenticeship programs at “scale” (2023 survey) — measures training pipeline intensity
Interpretation
Labor & Productivity Interpretation
In the Labor and Productivity lens, construction labor shows only modest momentum, with average hourly earnings at $34.21 in 2024 alongside a 1.2% drop in productivity in 2022 versus 2021 and just 4.6% of firms reporting apprenticeship programs at scale in 2023.
report visual · Projection
U.S. Construction: Wage, Activity, and Cost Pressure Move Together
Construction’s momentum is paired with upward wage growth while key inputs and demand signals shift.
7.1 % change / growth
Start
+6.81%
CAGR · 2y
8.1 % change / growth
Projected
20222024
source-verifiedcensus.gov · data.bls.gov · bls.gov2024
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Henrik Dahl. (2026, February 13). U.S. Construction Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/u-s-construction-industry-statistics
MLA
Henrik Dahl. "U.S. Construction Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/u-s-construction-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Henrik Dahl. 2026. "U.S. Construction Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/u-s-construction-industry-statistics.
Sources & references
30 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
+13 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)