The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Opening and Labor Turnover Survey shows the construction industry registered 305,000 job openings in June, which is up by 14,000 for the month and up by 81,000 from June 2025. 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 was 2% in June, and the quit rate was 1.7%.
“Interpreting these data is often challenging,” said Associated Builders and Contractors Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “One could take these figures at face value and conclude that construction is thriving and driving demand for workers higher. Indeed, ABC’s Construction Confidence Indicator shows that the average contractor expects rising revenues and employment over the next six months.
“But June’s construction spending report indicates that overall residential and nonresidential construction spending continues to decline,” Basu continued. “Accordingly, one might look for other explanations for rising construction job openings, including demographic considerations.”
Basu pointed to the lack of experienced workers as a potential factor.
“Many contractors view a structural shortfall of skilled labor as their primary challenge because many highly experienced, productive workers are retiring,” he said. “It is conceivable that these workers are being replaced with less skilled and productive workers, thereby requiring a few workers to be replaced by many.
“Alternatively, the data may not be capturing all that transpires,” Basu continued. “It may be that certain people who had been working in construction were doing so without proper documentation. At least some of these workers are no longer available at job sites, inducing faster hiring and expanding job openings as contractors work to replace them.”
