The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Opening and Labor Turnover Survey shows the construction industry registered 276,000 job openings in November 2024, which is up by 17,000 from October 2024 and down by 178,000 from November 2023, 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 quit at the same rate they were laid off; the quit rate and layoff/discharge rate in November 2024 were 1.7%.
“Construction hiring fell to the second-slowest rate on record in November 2024,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “That’s especially meaningful given that the slowest rate occurred in April 2020 as the pandemic brought construction activity to a standstill. At the same time, the rates at which workers were laid off or quit also remained near historical lows, suggesting that both contractors and their employees were in a wait-and-see mode in November.
“Despite this relative stasis, industrywide job openings increased in November, rising to the highest level since August,” Basu continued. “More than half of contractors expect to increase their staffing levels over the next six months, according to ABC’s Construction Confidence Index, while fewer than 10% expect to decrease them, a sign that hiring may rebound from the recent lull in the coming months.”
