BLS, October 30: construction wages up 3.0% in a year
The Employment Cost Index released on October 30 covers the three months to September 2026. For workers in the private construction industry, wages and salaries rose 3.0% over 12 months. A year earlier the same figure was 4.1%, and in the 12 months to June 2026 it was 3.5%. In the last three months alone they rose 0.5% (not seasonally adjusted), after 1.6% in the three months to June. Total compensation in the construction industry, wages plus benefits, rose 3.1% over the year.
The picture looks different when you count the trades instead of the industry. Wages of private workers in construction, extraction, farming, fishing and forestry jobs, whoever employs them, rose 3.8% over the year. For all private industry workers wages rose 3.1% and benefit costs 3.9%.
Why a small contractor should care: a skilled worker still expects a raise of a few percent a year, and the jobs that compete for him (BLS counts trade jobs in every industry, not only at construction companies) were paying 3.8% more. If you have not changed your crew's day rate in over a year, you may be behind. And if you pay any benefits, such as health insurance, those costs are rising faster than wages.
What to do this week: write down every worker's current day or hourly rate and the date it last changed. Then check the labor rate you use in estimates for jobs that run into 2027: if you plan raises in January, the estimates you send in November should already carry the new rate. If you buy health insurance for your crew, ask your agent now what the renewal will cost. Whether a raise, a bonus or a benefit is the better choice for your taxes is a question for your accountant.
Where WorkTime CRM helps with this
In Projects each crew day you mark with "✓ Worked" on the worker's card (Project → Team → Crew) goes into that job's labor costs, so the Money tab shows what the job really cost and how much profit is left. The worker's day rate is filled in from his last entry, and you can change it any time in Accounting → Team Pay.
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