Industry at a Glance: Data Center Momentum Set to Cool in 2026

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construction industry at a glance for January

As far as data goes, we now have a pretty good sense of the U.S. construction industry’s performance in 2025, with mostly finalized numbers having been published. Employment was down slightly year over year (as was unemployment), the number of job openings has raised drastically, and momentum is experiencing a decent swing in a positive direction.

In a year-over-year comparison, 2025’s performance is not so much different than years prior.

Construction unemployment, for instance, was at 6.5% in January 2025, fell into the 3% range during the summer months and was back up to 5% by December—rising and falling with construction’s typical busy and slow seasons. In 2024, the cadence was similar, starting at 6.4%, falling to as low as 3.3% and eventually making it’s way back up to 5.2%.

Employment stayed relatively flat all year, staying generally in the 8.3 million range, which was much the same in 2024; though, in 2024, employment began at 8.1 million monthly, ultimately rising to 8.3 million by year’s end.

Job openings similarly saw low movement in 2025, shifting monthly between a high of 288,000 in February to a low of 182,000 in August, finishing out the year with 270,000 in December. The movement, predictably, aligned with the fluctuating unemployment rate.

construction industry data for 2025

While these numbers remain in line with the movement and slow growth of previous years, the most optimistic storyline coming out of 2025 was the industry’s momentum, as projected by the Dodge Construction Network.

In 2024, the industry saw momentum grow throughout the year. Dodge’s Commercial Index, a measure of project pipeline strength, saw an increase of 27.6% from January to December and a 26% jump year over year. The Institutional Index saw a 2% decline and a 0.6% increase over the same periods, respectively.

Comparatively, in 2025, commercial momentum saw a 30.5% increase from January to December and a 35.7% increase year over year. The Institutional Index saw a 28.7% increase and a 37.3% increase over the same periods, respectively.

“Nonbuilding construction, alongside data centers, was the primary engine of growth in 2025, supporting a 5.4% expansion in the total dollar-value of starts,” said Sarah Martin, associate director of forecasting at Dodge Construction Network, in a press statement.

By late 2025, there were reportedly more than 2,500 data centers planned or under construction in the US. That would be a represent roughly 46% increase in data centers for the country. But while a flurry of data center projects drove momentum in 2025, Martin says that could be cooling (at least relatively) in 2026.

“Data center projects continue to lead the way, but after elevated activity in late 2025, most nonresidential sectors are now easing into a more sustainable growth pattern.”