Colorado construction industry reels from Trump-era policies
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A construction worker in Denver. Photo: Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post via Getty Images
Colorado's booming construction industry is buckling under President Trump's tariffs and immigration crackdown.
Why it matters: Policies that squeeze the $33 billion industry risk slowing the state's growth and stalling affordable housing and infrastructure projects.
Driving the news: A report out this month from Colorado's Office of State Planning and Budgeting found that tariffs are straining builders' bottom lines, pushing up costs and delaying projects.
- Tariffs on steel, aluminum and copper have driven up raw material costs 20-40% higher than in 2020, inflating overall project expenses by 15-25%.
- Pricier materials are estimated to make new homes 4-6% more expensive to build. For a $750,000 home, that's an extra $30,000-$45,000.
The latest: A ramp-up in federal immigration crackdowns is thinning construction crews in Colorado and across the country, according to a new nationwide survey by the Associated General Contractors of America.
- Nearly 1 in 4 Colorado firms report that they've lost workers due to enforcement actions, the survey found.
- 14% employ DACA or Temporary Protected Status workers, and another 27% say they're not sure — underscoring how precarious the labor supply is.
Zoom in: Denver's construction workforce is especially reliant on foreign-born workers. Nearly 20% are noncitizens, compared to 17.5% nationwide, per Census data.
The big picture: The industry slowdown isn't just Colorado's problem. Nationally, construction shed jobs for the third straight month, per the latest U.S. jobs report out this month.
- Higher interest rates and tighter immigration enforcement are likely culprits, putting pressure on both the supply of workers and the demand for new projects.