Construction-Focused Look at Job Openings & Labor Turnover Survey for September

A closer look at the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) for September, with a focus on the construction sector and additional analysis provided by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), shows that hiring in the construction sector remained solid at a 4.7% rate in September.

The post-COVID peak rate of hiring occurred in May 2020 at 10.4%, as the rebound took hold in the home building and remodeling sector.

In September, construction job openings increased from 386,000 in August to 422,000 in September. This number is actually higher than the estimate from September 2021 of 348,000. As a result, the construction job openings rate moved higher as well, increasing to 5.2% in September after posting 4.8% in August. The series-high was recorded in April 2022 at 5.5%.

As building activity continues to slow, construction sector layoffs have too, increasing to a rate of 2.1% in September. In comparison, in April 2020, the layoff rate was 10.8%. Since that time, with exception of February 2021 weather related issues, the sector layoff rate has been below 3%.

The number of construction quits in September, 152,000, was lower than one year ago, when there were 188,000 quits.