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Construction jobs up 33,000 in January 2026; 25,000 in nonresidential specialty trades

Misleading

Facts are technically correct but framed in a way that likely leads to a wrong impression. Learn more in Methodology.

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BLS or official employment data confirming construction employment increased by 33,000 in January 2026 and that 25,000 of those were in nonresidential specialty trades, with the stated comparison to the prior five years.

Source summary
The White House reported that January’s jobs report showed stronger-than-expected private-sector gains and wage growth, with 172,000 private jobs added, 42,000 government jobs lost, and the unemployment rate falling to 4.3%. The administration highlighted construction gains—especially 25,000 nonresidential specialty trade jobs—and said January’s 130,000 new nonfarm jobs was the best month so far. The White House also cited revisions that, it says, overstated job growth during the last two years of the previous administration by about 1.9 million jobs. Officials attributed the improvements to President Trump’s economic agenda and investments in manufacturing and data centers.
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Latest fact check

The BLS Employment Situation release for February 11, 2026 reports construction employment up 33,000 in January 2026 and explicitly states nonresidential specialty trade contractors rose by +25,000 (25.1 thousand) (BLS CES, Feb 11, 2026). However, the BLS/CES historical series for "All employees, nonresidential specialty trade contractors" (CES2023800201) shows a larger monthly increase of about +38.0 thousand in March 2021, which falls within the five years before January 2026. Verdict: Misleading — the headline job counts (33,000 and 25,000) are correct, but the characterization that the +25,000 was "the highest monthly change in five years" is incorrect because a larger monthly gain occurred in that five‑year window (March 2021 ~+38,000).

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Timeline

  1. Update · Feb 12, 2026, 02:34 AMMisleading
    The BLS Employment Situation release for February 11, 2026 reports construction employment up 33,000 in January 2026 and explicitly states nonresidential specialty trade contractors rose by +25,000 (25.1 thousand) (BLS CES, Feb 11, 2026). However, the BLS/CES historical series for "All employees, nonresidential specialty trade contractors" (CES2023800201) shows a larger monthly increase of about +38.0 thousand in March 2021, which falls within the five years before January 2026. Verdict: Misleading — the headline job counts (33,000 and 25,000) are correct, but the characterization that the +25,000 was "the highest monthly change in five years" is incorrect because a larger monthly gain occurred in that five‑year window (March 2021 ~+38,000).
  2. Original article · Feb 11, 2026
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