Â鶹´«Ã½’s 2026 State of Workforce Planning report finds that every contractor surveyed feels the labor shortage, costs are rising sharply, and contractors are quickly adopting AI to address these challenges.
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TORONTO — October 14, 2026 — Â鶹´«Ã½, the AI workforce planning platform built for construction, today released its second annual State of Workforce Planning report. The 2026 findings confirm that with no end in sight to labor challenges, construction leaders are responding by doubling down on agentic AI, focusing on data foundations that support informed workforce planning, and ultimately even shifting their perspective on what is important when building strong teams.
The report shows how quickly contractors are turning to technology in response. As investment rises and confidence in workforce planning software grows, more than a third of leaders are now open to implementing AI that can act on its own. Technology is also behind one of this year’s other big changes: how leaders see the importance of integration. A year ago, being able to connect a planning tool to an HRIS was a priority for just under one-third of leaders. This year it is for 99%, and nearly half of leaders (43%) already name AI tools and MCP connections as essential to integrating with workforce planning.
Ongoing labor shortage and climbing costs trigger smarter workforce planning strategies
All 250 construction leaders surveyed said the labor shortage is affecting their business, up from 93% in 2025. Cost is a top concern, with 68% of contractors reporting higher costs as a result of the shortage, up from 43% last year.
With a shortage of available workers, leaders are having to rethink how they make decisions on project pursuits and team composition. When choosing which projects to bid on, 98% of leaders now put increased weight on workforce availability and capacity, up from 60% last year. It has also changed what leaders look for in a project team. With little time for ramp-up, the importance of identifying team members with previous experience working together nearly doubled, rising from 44% to 84%, and is now the top factor in building a successful team. Factoring in experience with the specific build type fell from 59% to 27%, a drop that could be due to the explosion of data center builds, which represent a brand new build type for many contractors.
“The labor shortage isn’t new, but what is changing is the way contractors are addressing it,” said Mallorie Brodie, CEO and Co-Founder of Â鶹´«Ã½. “Our research shows that leaders are prioritizing more strategic bidding, stronger data foundations, and stronger team building in order to ensure successful project delivery with the workers they do have. They’re also willing to invest additional money into developing the workforce of the future.â€
AI is moving from making suggestions to taking action
AI adoption has become the most prominent part of this shift. 80% of construction leaders have incorporated AI into their workforce planning, with 30% actively using it and 50% in the early stages of implementation. Fewer than one in five have yet to begin.
“Contractors are ready for AI that takes on real work, provided they can see what it’s doing and step in when needed,” said Brodie. “Our research shows that the majority of contractors are looking to leverage AI as part of their workforce planning workflows, especially in strategic capacities like forecasting and predictive analytics. The biggest concerns they have are trusting AI recommendations and dealing with tools that don’t support construction-specific workflows, and both are central to how we approach usable AI at Â鶹´«Ã½.”
About the Data
Â鶹´«Ã½ surveyed 250 construction leaders at firms with $100M or more in annual revenue across the US, Canada, the UK, and Australia. Respondents were 63% Directors and 37% VPs or above, spanning operations, project management, and field operations. Year-over-year comparisons refer to Â鶹´«Ã½’s report.
To explore further industry findings, the full 2026 State of Workforce Planning report is now available at gobridgit.com/state-of-workforce-planning.
About Â鶹´«Ã½
Â鶹´«Ã½ is the only AI workforce planning platform built exclusively for construction. Trusted by 40% of top contractors, Â鶹´«Ã½ gives teams instant answers about their people, their pipeline, and their workforce gaps, so the right crews are on the right jobs, every time. Contractors get stronger project teams, smarter staffing and bidding decisions, and a workforce strategy that stays ahead of demand instead of reacting to it. Â鶹´«Ã½ is a privately held company backed by investors such as Autodesk, Salesforce Ventures, and Sands Capital, among others.
For more information, visit gobridgit.com.
Media Contact:
Amy Palmer, Vice President of Marketing
Â鶹´«Ã½
amy.palmer@gobridgit.com
