The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Opening and Labor Turnover Survey shows the construction industry registered 259,000 job openings in April, which is up by 25,000 for the month and up by 52,000 from April 2025. The survey defines a job opening as any unfilled position for which an employer is actively recruiting.
Construction workers quit at a faster rate than they were laid off; the quit rate was 1.7% in April, and the layoff/discharge rate was 1.5%.
“This release of April data suggests that contractors are increasingly struggling to fill open positions,” said Associated Builders and Contractors Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “Fewer construction workers were laid off in April than in any month since the first half of 2022, and industrywide job openings, while still relatively low by historical standards, are up more than 25% over the past year.
“These dynamics likely stem from immigration policy and the shrinking number of undocumented workers, as well as acute shortages of certain trades workers, including those involved in data center construction," Basu continued. "While contractors remain broadly optimistic about increasing their staffing levels over the next six months, according to ABC’s Construction Confidence Index, labor availability is unlikely to improve over the short term.”
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