US construction job openings down 40% year on year

(Graph courtesy Associated Builders and Contractors)

The data shows the construction industry had 249,000 job openings on the last day of October. Industry job openings decreased by 9,000 for the month and are down by 164,000 from the same time last year.

JOLTS defines a job opening as any unfilled position for which an employer is actively recruiting.

ABC chief economist Anirban Basu said, “While JOLTS data can be volatile from month to month, especially at the industry level, the decline in unfilled construction positions is undeniable over the past few quarters.

“On average, just 3.4% of industrywide positions were open over the past six months, the lowest rate since 2020.”

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Basu said the November election and anticipation of reducing Federal Funds Rate may have frozen some firms on hiring as they awaited results and news.

“There’s reason to suspect that election uncertainty, combined with the expectation that borrowing costs will decline over the next several quarters, delayed staffing decisions over the past few months,” explained Basu, who noted that, despite the dropping figures, the industry also retrained much of its workforce. Basu said contractors laid off fewer workers this October than “any month on record.”

But US contractors expect loosening regulations and potentially more work next year, which Basu said could mean “construction job openings will rise through the early months of 2025.”

(Table courtesy Associated Builders and Contractors)

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