The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Opening and Labor Turnover Survey shows the construction industry registered 202,000 job openings in February, which is down by 28,000 for the month and by 53,000 from February 2025, according to Associated Builders and Contractors. The survey defines a job opening as any unfilled position for which an employer is actively recruiting.
Construction workers were laid off at a faster rate than they quit; the layoff/discharge rate was 1.8%, and the quit rate was 1.5% in February.
“Construction hiring fell to the slowest rate on record in February,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “At the same time, contractors remained reluctant to lay off workers while employees were even more reluctant to leave. The combination of historically slow hiring and exceedingly few separations made February 2026 the month with the least construction labor force churn since the BLS began this survey in December 2000.
“Of course, this data pertains to February, when the Strait of Hormuz was open and the price of oil was under $100 per barrel,” Basu continued. “While contractors continue to express optimism regarding their staffing intentions, according to ABC’s Construction Confidence Index, recent data and developments suggest that hiring is unlikely to rebound in the near future.”
