Highlights From May’s ConstructConnect Economic Outlook Webcast

• The twice-a-year Construction Economy Outlook webcast covered a variety of topics, including the impact of tariffs, labor, and the demand expectations for construction.
  
  

• Recent surveys put the percentage of foreign-born construction workers in the US between 25% and 29% of the total labor force, making construction far more dependent on foreign-born labor than any other industry.

• Forecasted total construction demand for 2025 is expected to contract by 1.8% in the US and 8.6% in Canada, with improvement in the US anticipated in 2026 and in Canada not expected until 2027.

Every spring and fall, ConstructConnect hosts a construction webcast featuring presentations by the AIA, AGC, and ConstructConnect’s own subject matter experts. The spring session on May 8th was a wellspring of insights. 

The webcast covered a diverse range of economic topics, including the significant impact that newly enacted policies are expected to have on international trade and labor — and the cumulative impact of these changes on the construction economy in 2025 and beyond. 

Tariffs: The impact of tariffs is expected to create an “above average” disruption to the construction industry. 

The construction industry imports about 10% of total inputs, compared to the national average of 8.9%. Within construction, the exposure to imported goods weighs more heavily in nonresidential construction than in residential, where imports account for a smaller 7% of total inputs.

The inputs in nonresidential categories most exposed to imports include educational and healthcare construction, followed more distantly by manufacturing.

Labor: Recent surveys put the percentage of foreign-born construction 
workers in the US between 25% and 29% of the total labor force. This makes construction far more dependent on foreign-born labor than any other industry. 

Of the proportion that is foreign-born, estimates suggest that half of these workers, or 1-in-8 of all construction workers, are unauthorized to work in the US. By trade, it is estimated that more than half of all plasterers and stucco masons, drywall installers, roofers, and painters are foreign-born.

The demand forecast of the US Grand Total Construction Starts. Forecasted total construction demand for 2025 is expected to contract by 1.8% in the US and 8.6% in Canada. In 2026, conditions in the US are anticipated to improve as the industry returns to modest growth. Image: ConstructConnect

Construction Demand: Construction starts were very soft at the beginning of 
2025, with residential and nonresidential building construction activity down by approximately 30% YTD.

While those conditions have improved significantly, YTD total construction through April remains slightly below year-ago levels. 

Forecasted total construction demand for 2025 is expected to contract by 1.8% in the US and 8.6% in Canada. In 2026, conditions in the US are anticipated 
to improve as the industry returns towards modest growth. Construction industry growth in Canada is not expected to return until 2027 as the country moves through an expected recession that lasts until early to mid-2026.

Watch the recording here.

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About ConstructConnect

Construction Starts Here™ at ConstructConnect, where our mission is to help the construction industry start every project on a solid foundation. A leading provider of software solutions for the preconstruction industry, ConstructConnect empowers commercial construction firms to streamline their workflows and maximize productivity. ConstructConnect operates as a business unit of Roper Technologies (Nasdaq: ROP), a constituent of the Nasdaq 100, S&P 500, and Fortune 1000.