ABC’s latest workforce shortage analysis reveals the construction industry must attract 349,000 new workers in 2026—and 456,000 in 2027—to keep up with demand for construction services. That demand is based on a relatively conservative construction spend forecast of $2.23 trillion. Should this economy take off like President Trump believes it will, the industry’s challenge to find and retain talent will become even more difficult—especially as the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the construction industry created just 14,000 net new jobs in 2025.
Construction faces swirling winds in 2026 that will only exacerbate the shortage: data center construction growth, slow demand in residential markets, interest rates, construction input costs, deregulation, immigration enforcement, tariff policies and more. But there is one headwind we can turn into a tailwind: authoring into law a market-based worker visa system.
This visa system relies on actual construction labor demand rather than the government issuing a fixed arbitrary number of visas each year. Visa applicants are hired based on merit and skill, with a robust vetting process that addresses security and fraudulent applicants. A market-based worker visa system creates a significant income stream through payroll tax withholdings—a direct benefit to U.S. citizens—and will contribute significantly to satisfying the chronic worker shortage we have today.
If this system had been implemented 10 years ago, our industry more than likely would not be dealing with the chronic workforce challenges we have today.
This proposal is a systematic transformation of the construction worker visa system, relying on economic laws of supply and demand and complying with the rule of law in our land.
Now is the time. We have to get this done.
SEE ALSO: BUILDING THE NEXT GENERATION: SIX STRATEGIES FOR MANAGING A YOUNGER CONSTRUCTION WORKFORCE
The post We Have to Get This Done: Data Centers, Interest Rates and More Primed to Exacerbate Labor Shortage first appeared on Construction Executive.
