Skilled Construction a Bright Spot in Otherwise Tepid August Jobs Report

Hiring in the U.S. was generally stagnant across all industries in August, though the numbers for skilled construction work saw gains, according to the latest jobs report from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). 

Overall, the labor market added just 22,000 non-farm payroll jobs in August, with unemployment at 4.3 percent, the highest level since October 2021. The numbers were below the expectations of analysts, who had predicted gains of 75,000 jobs across the country, according to a Wall Street Journal poll. 

Some key industries — including construction, retail trade, transportation and warehousing, information, financial activities, professional and business services, leisure and hospitality, and others in service sectors — showed “little change over the month,” the BLS report noted. 

However, the year-over-year figures show that 59,100 more skilled construction workers in nonresidential work were added between August 2024 and August 2025, even as construction overall remained flat. 

“The latest jobs report underscores what we’ve been sensing on the ground,” Jared Epstein, president of Aurora Capital Associates, told Commercial Observer via email. “Momentum has cooled, but the fundamentals remain stable. In real estate and construction, employment has held steady, which suggests the slowdown is more about caution than collapse. Historically low unemployment, even at 4.3 percent, shows the labor market still has resilience. For developers and investors, this environment calls for measured optimism, staying disciplined, but not paralyzed by headlines.”

This is the first jobs report since President Donald Trump fired Erika McEntarfer, the commissioner of the BLS since last year. Trump took to social media on Aug. 1 claiming that the previous BLS jobs report, also lackluster in comparison to previous ones, was “rigged” to make him look bad, and that McEntarfer had faked the numbers in the report. 

The Federal Reserve is expected to reduce interest rates at a meeting scheduled to be held on Sept. 17, and the latest jobs figures are only adding fuel to the speculation that a rate cut is imminent. 

“When the labor market turns bad, it turns bad fast,” Federal Reserve Gov. Christopher Waller, who is a potential candidate to take the top seat in 2026 after current Chairman Jerome Powell’s term ends, said on an episode of CNBC’s Squawk box. “So, for me, I think we need to start cutting rates at the next meeting.”

Amanda Schiavo can be reached at aschiavo@commercialobserver.com.