Residential Real Estate News
Construction Job Openings in U.S. Down 40 Percent Annually in October
The construction industry had 249,000 job openings as of the last day of October, according to an analysis by Associated Builders and Contractors based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). JOLTS defines a job opening as any vacant position for which an employer is actively recruiting. The number of job openings in the industry dropped by 9,000 compared to the previous month and declined by 164,000 from the same period last year.
"Construction industry job openings continued to decline in October, marking a nearly 40% decrease over the past year," said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. "Although JOLTS data can fluctuate from month to month, particularly at the industry level, the downward trend in unfilled construction positions over recent quarters is clear. On average, only 3.4% of industry positions have been open over the past six months, the lowest rate recorded since 2020."
Basu noted, "It's likely that election-related uncertainty and expectations of lower borrowing costs in the coming quarters have caused delays in staffing decisions recently. In October, industry hiring reached its lowest point since 2020, while contractors laid off fewer workers than in any previous month. However, with employment growth in construction outpacing the broader economy in recent quarters and contractors generally anticipating increased staffing over the next six months, as indicated by ABC's Construction Confidence Index, it's expected that job openings in the construction sector will rise in early 2025."
