Main Street Monday: Construction Small Biz Owners Most Optimistic says NFIB
June 15, 2026
Bob Coleman
Founder & Publisher
Main Street Monday: Construction Small Biz Owners Most Optimistic says NFIB
From the latest NFIB quarterly industry report.
Owners in the construction industry were the most optimistic among all small-business segments.
NFIB says construction small businesses:
- Plans to Increase Employment (net): 19%
- Plans to Make Capital Outlays: 18%
- Plans to Increase Inventories (net): -4%
- Expect Economy to Improve (net): 12%
- Expect Real Higher Sales (net): 6%
- Current Inventory – Too Low (net): -2%
- Current Job Openings: 46%
- Expected Credit Conditions (net): -1%
- Good Time to Expand: 11%
- Earnings Trends (net): -11%
Lending opportunities exist with 11% planning expansion and 18% planning to commit capital for future projects.
Forty-six percent of owners in the construction industry reported unfilled job openings.
The buildout of data centers and AI-related facilities is also contributing to the labor challenge. Reports of few or no qualified applicants in the construction industry rose slightly in April. Fifty-six percent of construction firms reported few or no qualified applicants.
Twenty-nine percent of small businesses in the construction industry reported labor quality as their single most important problem.