Construction Job Openings Plunge By 51,000 in July

The construction industry had 248,000 job openings on the last day of July, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. JOLTS defines a job opening as any unfilled position for which an employer is actively recruiting. Industry job openings decreased by 51,000 last month and are down by 103,000 from the same time last year.

“Construction job openings plunged for the second straight month in July,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “Much of this decline is likely due to the residential sector. More housing units were completed in June than in any month dating back to 2007, and the number of housing units under construction has fallen about 8% since the start of the year.

“That’s not to suggest that the nonresidential segment has not also seen a decline in its demand for labor,” said Basu. “The share of construction jobs that are currently unfilled has fallen to the lowest level since early 2018, and a portion of that contraction is due to weakness in certain segments like commercial and lodging. Despite the dearth of openings, contractors continue to lay off workers at a historically slow pace, and fewer than 1 in 7 contractors expect their staffing levels to decline over the next six months, according to ABC’s Construction Confidence Index.”