Contractors Less Optimistic For 2026: AGC Study

by David Flaherty | 13 January 2026 10:45 am

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Contractors are generally less optimistic about the outlook for nonresidential and multifamily construction in 2026 than they were a year ago, except for data centers[2] and power projects, according to the 2026 AGC/Sage Construction Hiring and Business Outlook Survey[3], released by Associated General Contractors (AGC) earlier this week.

According to a report from Ken Simonson, AGC’s chief economist, the survey included 951 responses from November 4 to December 15. Respondents were asked whether the dollar value of projects they compete for would be higher or lower in 2026. The net reading (the percentage of respondents expecting a higher dollar value less the percentage expecting a lower value) was positive for 12 out of 17 project types. Respondents were more hopeful than in the 2025 survey regarding data centers, with a net positive reading of 57 percentage points (up 15 points from the 2025 survey), and power (net of 34, up 2 points). The net reading declined for all other types, though it remained positive for hospitals, with a net of 20, and other healthcare (such as clinics, labs, and testing facilities), 24; water and sewer, 16; manufacturing, 15; transportation facilities, 11; bridge/highway, 10; warehouse and federal agencies, 5 each; multifamily, 4; and public buildings, 1. The net readings slipped from positive in 2025 to negative for K-12 schools, -1; higher education, -5; and lodging, -7. Readings were even more negative than in 2025 for private office, -14, and retail, -18.

Among other results, 33 percent of respondents report having been affected by immigration enforcement: 6 percent at a jobsite or offsite; 11 percent because workers left or failed to show up; and 24 percent because subcontractors had been affected.

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