The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Opening and Labor Turnover Survey shows the construction industry registered 306,000 job openings in July, which is up by 64,000 from June and by 77,000 from July 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 June was 2.8%, and the quit rate was 0.9%.
“The construction job opening rate rose to the highest level in over a year during July,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “Given the ongoing decline in nonresidential construction spending, however, that increase is likely attributable to immigration policy and its effects on the industry’s labor force rather than any increases in the demand for construction workers.”
Basu said the data signals issues regarding job security.
“Indeed, other portions of this data release suggest an alarming deterioration in industrywide labor demand,” Basu said. “Fewer construction workers quit their jobs in July than in any month over the past nine years, suggesting widespread concern about job security, while layoffs jumped to the highest level since Q1 of 2023.
“That said, JOLTS data can be volatile from month to month, and it’s difficult to know the degree to which undocumented workers are or are not captured in the data,” he continued. “More than 55% of ABC members expect to increase their staffing levels over the next six months, according to the July reading of the Construction Confidence Index. That measure will be critical to monitor in the months ahead.”
