The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Opening and Labor Turnover Survey shows the construction industry registered 213,000 job openings in October, which is down by 18,000 for the month and down by 36,000 from October 2024, 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 October was 1.6%, and the quit rate was 1.4%.
“The number of open, unfilled construction jobs remained extraordinarily low in October,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “Hires, on the other hand, fell sharply for the month. This is consistent with other recent data, most of which has shown that the construction industry has been in a state of contraction throughout the majority of 2025.
“Because of the government shutdown, this JOLTS release is the most current indication of construction industry activity, and more updated data will not be available until later this month,” Basu continued. “Despite what has been a fairly dismal stretch of industry data, contractors remain upbeat about their hiring intentions over the next six months, according to ABC’s Construction Confidence Index.”
