Bridgit, the leading workforce planning software for construction, today published the 2026 Construction Workforce Benchmark Report — the first workforce intelligence report drawing on real workforce data from 233 contractors, 114,000+ professionals, and nearly 40% of the ENR 400. The findings challenge several widely-held assumptions about the industry’s labor market and offer contractors a data-driven benchmark for their own workforce strategies.

Key Findings at a Glance

• 46% of contractors achieved zero net headcount growth in 2025.
• The industry’s median attrition rate is 18.7%, meaning a contractor who needs to add 100 people must hire approximately 125 to account for turnover.
• Industrial/Manufacturing project starts surged 68.1% year-over-year, while Solar starts fell 44.4%.
• Senior Project Managers have an attrition rate of just 3.6% — compared to 18.8% for non-senior PMs.
• ENR Top 50 firms plan an average of 6.8 years into the future, versus 4.7 years for other contractors.

The Treadmill Effect: Growth That Goes Nowhere

One of the report’s most striking findings is what Bridgit calls the “treadmill effect.” While 71.7% of contractors grew headcount in 2025, the industry’s average attrition rate of 20.7% nearly wiped out those gains. A contractor targeting 100 net new hires with a 20% attrition rate must actually make 125 total hires. At 35% attrition—at the higher end of the distribution—that number climbs to 154.

“Most workforce decisions in construction still happen on instinct and spreadsheets,” said Mallorie Brodie, CEO of Bridgit. “What this data shows—drawn directly from the workforce plans of the world’s largest contractors—is that the gap between instinct and data is measured in years of planning horizon and points of attrition. The companies pulling ahead are the ones thinking ahead.”

The Labor Shortage Goes Deeper Than Headcount

The report adds important context to the widely discussed labor shortage in construction. The data highlights a specific—and more difficult—problem: the availability of experienced, senior-level talent in the roles that matter most: site superintendents and project managers.

Senior Superintendents have a median tenure of 7 years and an attrition rate of 4.1%. Senior Project Managers are even more stable, with a median tenure of 5.6 years and an attrition rate of just 3.6%. Their junior counterparts turn over at rates more than twice as high — and have a median tenure of only 3.7–3.8 years. 

The implication: it’s not just about hiring, it’s about identifying where skill gaps are present, and finding ways to retain, develop, and scale top talent.

A Rapidly Shifting Project Mix Demands New Workforce Strategy

The report documents a significant reshuffling of the construction project landscape over the past five years. Industrial and Manufacturing project starts grew 68.1% year-over-year—a trend being accelerated by current tariff policies and supply chain re-shoring. Transportation and Infrastructure starts rose 45.2%, and Data Center projects continued their well-documented climb. Meanwhile, Solar starts fell 44.4%.

The data also reveals that project type isn’t just a revenue question, it’s a workforce planning variable. Median team sizes range from 5 people on Office/Corporate projects to 28.5 on Solar. Project durations span from 4.7 months (Renovation) to 30.1 months (Solar). The largest contractors in the ENR Top 50 are more concentrated in longer, more complex project types, and their workforce strategies reflect that.

Introducing the Rookie Ratio Benchmark

The report highlights the “rookie ratio,” a practical tool used for balancing team experience before a project begins. The rookie ratio measures the proportion of team members with less than one year of company tenure, paired with more experienced team members. Across the dataset, the average rookie ratio is 36.4%. Larger teams (51+ people) skew closer to ~56%, compared to roughly 25% on three-to-five-person teams.

Strategic contractors use the rookie ratio as a pre-project planning input, aligning experience with project complexity before work begins—rather than discovering imbalances during execution. An added benefit is the intentional development of less-tenured team members through direct pairing with veterans.