The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Opening and Labor Turnover Survey shows the construction industry registered 407,000 job openings in August, which is up 54,000 from July and 45,000 from August 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 18th consecutive month, construction workers quit their jobs at a faster rate than they were laid off or discharged; the quit rate in August was 3%, and the layoff/discharge rate was 1.6%.
“Today’s job openings estimate is further evidence that contractors continue to hunt for talent,” said Associated Builders and Contractors Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “In August, 5% of all construction jobs were unfilled, higher than at any point between 2001, when the BLS began tracking it, and 2021. Contractors have every intention of expanding their staffing levels over the next several months, according to ABC’s Construction Confidence Index, but severely constrained labor supply will frustrate these efforts.
“Despite the increase in construction industry job openings, the overall number of job openings economywide fell to 10.1 million, its lowest level since June 2021,” Basu continued. “This is actually good news for the real estate and construction segments, as any evidence of weakening economic momentum brings us closer to the point when the Federal Reserve can stop ramping up borrowing costs.”
