Q3 2026 Jobs Report: Where Real Estate Is Still Hiring
117,353 active U.S. jobs were identified across the real estate and built-environment industries analyzed at the end of Q3 2026.
Construction, Real Estate, and Civil Engineering accounted for 95.1% of active U.S. openings.
Construction led with 57,174 jobs, while Civil Engineering carried the highest median advertised annual salary at $125,000.
Construction, real estate, and civil engineering accounted for more than 95% of active U.S. job openings across the industries analyzed by CRETI and CareerHound.
The real estate labor market entered the fourth quarter with hiring concentrated around the physical development and operation of assets. CRETI’s analysis of CareerHound data identified 117,353 active U.S. job listings across selected real estate and built-environment industries as of September 30, 2026.
Construction accounted for 57,174 positions, Real Estate for 39,384, and Civil Engineering for 15,035. Together, the three industries represented 95.1% of active U.S. openings in the dataset, placing most observed hiring demand around building, operating, engineering, and managing the built environment.
Construction Leads the Market
Construction represented 48.7% of all active U.S. jobs analyzed, nearly 18,000 more openings than Real Estate and almost four times the number in Civil Engineering. The concentration reflects demand across a broad project base that includes new development, infrastructure, capital improvements, renovations, and specialized construction.
Compensation also remained elevated. Among Construction listings reporting annual U.S. salaries, the median advertised salary was $112,000, with the middle half of listings ranging from approximately $85,000 to $150,000.
Real Estate Remains a Major Employer
Real Estate accounted for 33.6% of active U.S. jobs, with nearly 40,000 positions open at quarter-end. The category spans a wide operating base and likely includes roles across property operations, asset management, finance, leasing, accounting, investments, development, and corporate functions.
Among listings reporting annual salaries, the median advertised compensation was approximately $92,763. More importantly, the size of the category shows that a slower transaction market has not eliminated the need for operating capacity across real estate companies.
Civil Engineering Carries the Highest Median Salary
Civil Engineering represented 12.8% of active U.S. jobs and carried the highest median advertised salary among the three largest industries. Median annual compensation reached $125,000, with the middle 50% of listings ranging from approximately $92,500 to $157,500.
The combination of technical specialization and sustained hiring demand places engineering talent at the center of infrastructure, development, and construction capacity. It also creates a labor market where productivity improvements carry meaningful economic value.
Hiring Is Concentrated Around Execution
The composition of hiring provides a clearer signal than the total number of jobs alone. Most active demand is concentrated in industries responsible for delivering projects, managing physical assets, and supporting the systems around them.
That creates a useful counterweight to industry narratives dominated by transaction volume and capital markets. Real estate companies continue to invest heavily in execution even as financing, development, and deal activity remain uneven.
CRETI Perspective
The Q3 labor market shows an industry still allocating significant resources to the physical economy. Construction, Real Estate, and Civil Engineering dominate the hiring landscape because the work around assets continues regardless of how quickly transactions recover.
The next layer of analysis is profession, not industry. Breaking these openings into asset management, property management, construction management, finance, leasing, engineering, operations, and technology will show where companies are increasing capacity and where they are becoming more selective.
