Long Island Construction Employment Falls 7 Percent, 5,600 Jobs Lost

Construction employers across Nassau and Suffolk counties shed roughly 5,600 jobs between November 2024 and November 2025, reducing payrolls from 82,100 to 76,500 and marking a 7 percent decline that touches both residential builders and public works contractors. Data from the Associated General Contractors of America show Long Island’s loss was the fifth-largest decline among 360 metropolitan areas tracked and continued a nine-month run of job losses.

The decline matters here because construction work underpins local small businesses, from subcontractors and suppliers to the tradespeople who do home renovations across the Island. Fewer construction jobs typically translate into lower income for electricians, carpenters, plumbers, and laborers, and can slow activity at building supply stores and engineering firms that depend on steady project pipelines.

Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist, summarized the dynamic plainly: "construction hiring has slowed as owners put projects on hold." That pullback from project owners appears to have outweighed the optimism captured elsewhere in the industry. The AGC’s 2026 Construction Hiring and Business Outlook Survey found that 63 percent of contractors nationwide expect to expand headcount in 2026, signaling that many firms plan to hire if work returns.

Local effects are likely to show up unevenly. Residential builders facing weaker demand or higher financing costs may delay starts on new homes and subdivisions, while municipal and state projects can stall if federal infrastructure funding or policy decisions are postponed. Those delays affect contracts for road work, utility upgrades, and school construction that sustain steady employment for many Long Island contractors.

The contrast between short-term job losses and contractor optimism points to a hinge for the market: if owners resume projects or if public infrastructure spending accelerates, hiring could rebound. Conversely, prolonged uncertainty in federal policy or delayed funding would deepen pressures on local firms already feeling the pinch of reduced activity.

For Suffolk County residents, the immediate consequence will be fewer job openings in construction trades and potential slowdowns in local building projects. Watch for shifts in municipal contract awards, activity at planning boards, and hiring notices from local contractors in the coming months. If infrastructure dollars and private starts pick up, the region’s construction workforce could recover; if not, the losses recorded through November 2025 may be the start of a longer adjustment for Long Island’s building economy.