The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Opening and Labor Turnover Survey shows the construction industry registered 288,000 job openings in September, which is down by 40,000 from August and down by 134,000 from September 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 were laid off at a faster rate than they quit; the layoff/discharge rate in September was 2.1%, and the quit rate was 1.4%.
“September’s data, which show a precipitous 32% decline in construction industry job openings over the past year, likely overstate the degree that demand for construction workers has slowed,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “Hurricane Helene, which did not dissipate until Sept. 29, temporarily suppressed the number of open construction positions across the Southeast. Because the BLS measures job openings on the final day of the relevant month, the data in this JOLTS release are almost certainly distorted. Approximately 45% of contractors intend to increase their staffing levels over the next six months, according to ABC’s Construction Confidence Index, suggesting that the industrywide demand for labor remains strong.”
