The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Opening and Labor Turnover Survey shows the construction industry registered 422,000 job openings in September, which is up 36,000 from August and 74,000 from September 2021, according to www.abc.org. The survey defines a job opening as any unfilled position for which an employer is actively recruiting.
For the first time since February 2021, construction workers quit their jobs at a slower rate than they were laid off or discharged; the quit rate in September was 2%, and the layoff/discharge rate was 2.3%.
“Given healthy Construction Backlog Indicator levels and elevated Construction Confidence Index readings, it is not surprising that the number of available, unfilled construction jobs openings increased in September,” said Associated Builders and Contractors Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “The No. 1 challenge for contractors continues to be securing sufficient numbers of skilled, motivated construction workers.
“Job openings across all industries increased in September, which means that the Federal Reserve won’t pivot away from its hawkish stance on inflation anytime soon,” Basu continued. “Rather, interest rates are likely to continue to rise as the Fed battles inflation. Firms focusing on infrastructure projects may continue to remain busy even if the economy ends up in a deep recession next year, due to a combination of current backlog and the expectation of major public infrastructure spending.”
