Published on: March 5, 2026, 09:32h.
Updated on: March 5, 2026, 09:32h.
- Las Vegas experienced the highest number of construction job reductions in the U.S. during 2025, totaling 8,600.
- Heavy dependence on immigrant labor left the industry exposed to immigration enforcement challenges.
- A significant drop in international tourism further decreased the demand for new resort and retail construction projects.
According to the latest findings, Las Vegas suffered the most construction job losses in 2025 among all metropolitan areas, with a staggering 11% of jobs eliminated—about 8,600 positions, matching New York’s losses. The Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) noted that the local workforce declined from 79,200 to 70,200 from December 2024 to December 2025.
In a discussion with the Las Vegas Review-Journal, AGC chief economist Ken Simonson pointed out two critical local factors contributing to this downturn. Firstly, Las Vegas is particularly dependent on foreign-born construction labor.
“Nevada ranks as one of the five states where over 50% of construction trades workers were foreign-born in 2024,” Simonson stated. “This situation leaves the state susceptible to immigration enforcement actions affecting job sites and may drive some workers to leave or stay away from employment.”
Supporting this demographic insight, Census figures reveal that Nevada boasts one of the lowest percentages of U.S.-born residents at 78.7% among all states.
“If immigration continues to decline or halt, it will become increasingly challenging to recruit new workers,” Simonson cautioned, expressing that this labor shortage would impede population-driven construction efforts, such as schools, housing, and retail developments.
The second issue Simonson identified was the fall in international visitors, which dropped from 5.02 million in 2024 to 4.6 million in 2025, marking a 7.5% decrease.
Simonson pointed out that this decline significantly impacts Nevada’s hotel, casino, entertainment, and retail construction sectors more than in many other states.
Unfortunately, the outlook does not appear to be improving anytime soon. Despite various optimistic quarterly reports from casino executives, Simonson indicated that he expects Las Vegas “specifically” to continue lagging in construction job growth through 2026.
A Symbolic Construction Shortfall
Ironically, this unfortunate news coincided with the hosting of CONEXPO-CON/AGG, the largest construction trade exhibition in the nation. This event, which launched on Tuesday at the Las Vegas Convention Center, aimed to set a world record for the largest assembly of individuals wearing safety vests.
While over 2,640 participants wore the vests, the attempt ultimately fell short as organizers ran out of time during the verification process. The existing record stands at 2,499 participants, achieved in Australia in 2019.