Nevada’s construction sector, long considered a cornerstone of the state’s economic growth, is navigating one of its most challenging periods in recent years. Even as the industry contributed $20.8 billion to Nevada’s GDP in 2024—representing 7.8% of total state output and ranking second-highest nationwide—many workers are now grappling with rising instability and fewer job prospects.
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According to data from the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), Nevada led the nation in construction job losses through August 2025, shedding 7,100 jobs—a 6.4% year-over-year decline. The contraction was especially steep during the late summer months, with 4,400 jobs disappearing between July and August alone. Workers who once moved seamlessly from one project to the next now find themselves searching for work or leaving the state for temporary employment.
Industry observers point to several overlapping pressures driving the slowdown. Residential homebuilders, for example, are experiencing a “softening” in the housing market. Slower home sales, rising interest rates, increased material costs, and cautious consumer spending are extending listing times and stalling new construction activity.
Commercial builders are facing a different challenge: a heavy reliance on a few mega-projects—such as the A’s stadium and the Hard Rock Hotel redevelopment—creating volatility once large phases end. When multiple major projects wrap up simultaneously, the pipeline of opportunities becomes unpredictable.
Amplifying these issues are broader economic factors. Tourism remains below pre-pandemic levels, affecting commercial demand, while federal tariff policies have driven up material costs across trades.
As Southern Nevada Building Trades Unions chief of staff Aarón Ibarra explains, “With supply costs, we were finally starting to see some stabilization from COVID in the last year and a half, but the tariffs kind of put everything back up in the air.”
Ibarra notes that of the 25,000 workers represented by 19 unions in the SNBTU, approximately 2,000 are out of work, and another 1,000 are working temporarily outside Nevada. The picture is an improvement over 2024, when roughly 4,000 members were sidelined, yet uncertainty remains high.
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Construction’s cyclical nature means workforce impacts vary depending on trade specialization and project timing. As Ibarra puts it, “The thing about construction is that you’re always working yourself out of a job.”
He adds that after major projects—including the Sphere, Fontainebleau, and Durango—finished in close succession, certain trades saw steep drop-offs. “Now, second-tier trades like tile setters and insulators, are struggling because they come in at the end of a project. But then you also have this cycle where they’ll start after the building is up, but iron workers start to struggle. You don’t always know when the next job is going to come around.”
On the residential side, Southern Nevada Home Builders Association CEO Tina Frias points to several combined pressures: high interest rates, elevated material costs, shifting buyer confidence, and restrictive building codes. While she expects improvement by late 2026, Frias raises long-term supply concerns.
A 2022 Applied Analysis study commissioned by SNHBA warns that—without access to more federally controlled land—Southern Nevada could run out of space for new housing by 2032. Frias stresses that expanding buildable land is essential for maintaining affordability and meeting population growth.
Despite current challenges, some leaders remain cautiously optimistic. Vincent Tatum, president of Grand Canyon Development Partners, believes the slump reflects the city’s broader tourism-driven economic cycles.
“That cyclical nature is no different than this city, which is often based on transient types or tourism and more susceptible to those factors than other major markets. Construction, then, is going to follow those trends,” he says.
Still, Tatum highlights a looming concern: the aging workforce. Many experienced workers left Nevada after the Great Recession and later during the pandemic, and younger talent is being drawn to competing industries.
As he explains, “When you design a project, you’re using tools and software that are similar to what’s used to make video games. So, we’ve had people leaving the engineering and design trades to work in the film or video game industries, and those jobs never really get backfilled.”
To address the talent shortage, Tatum partnered with the Nevada State Contractors Board (NSCB) for its In the Field Trip event on November 17. The program brought 100 students from local Career & Technical Academies to visit active construction sites and learn from industry professionals. Students also participated in a Q&A moderated by NSCB executive officer David Behar.
Behar says events like this are vital: “We need to replenish an aging workforce, and this was one way for us to let students know the trades are very important and also very diverse. The industry keeps evolving through new technologies, and there’s a seat at the table for just about anything somebody has a desire to go into, from the architecture and planning to building and management.”
Ibarra supports these workforce efforts but emphasizes that local hiring policies must be strengthened to protect Nevada-based workers.
“Our local contractor preference is oftentimes overlooked because they’re usually just looking for the lowest bidder," he says. "But our unions helped build this city, including the Hoover Dam, and we keep those wages in Nevada because we have our roots here. Water and electricity doesn’t turn on without our families who have been here since the very beginning, and we need to make sure they’re taken care of.”
As housing supply tightens, major projects cycle through, and economic pressures ripple across trades, Nevada’s construction workforce sits at a crossroads. While industry leaders remain hopeful for recovery, they agree that talent development, workforce retention, and local hiring protections will determine how quickly the sector rebounds.
Originally reported by Las Vegas Weekly.
