The nationwide labor market and wages are continuing their upward trend, and the construction industry is playing a big role.

According to the Employment Situation Summary reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 151,000 in February, following a downwardly revised increase of 125,000 jobs in January. Since January 2021, the U.S. job market has added jobs for 50 consecutive months, making it the third-longest period of employment expansion on record.

Construction sector employment increased by 19,000 positions in February as all five nonresidential and residential segments of the industry added workers, according to an analysis of new government data the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) released on March 7.

Wages grew at a 4% rate, down 0.1 percentage points from a year ago, according to a release from the National Home Builders Association. Wage growth has been outpacing inflation for nearly two years, which typically occurs as productivity increases.

That wage growth is comparable to what was seen in the construction industry. Average hourly earnings for production and nonsupervisory employees in construction – covering most on-site craft workers as well as many office workers – climbed by 4% over the year to $36.55 per hour, according to the AGC. In the previous 12 months, the same measure of pay increased 4.5%.

However, while the labor market remains healthy overall, there are signs of potential weakness in the coming months, driven by mass federal government layoffs and ongoing policy uncertainty. February’s jobs report may not fully reflect the impact of these layoffs in both the federal government and private sector, as the reference period for the monthly jobs report only covers the pay period that includes the 12th of the month. Government job losses totaled only 10,000 workers for the February report, the NHBA reported.

AGC officials warned that growing market uncertainty caused by tariffs and worsening labor shortages caused by evolving immigration policies could undermine future employment growth in the sector.

“Uncertainty, especially regarding tariffs and immigration policies, is causing new projects to be paused and may keep construction employment from rising further,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist, in a statement.