September Construction Market Hiring and Layoffs Data

A closer look into the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Job Openings and Labor Turnover (JOLTS) data for September with an eye specifically on the construction labor markets reveals that the construction segment hiring rate slowed modestly in September, after posting 5.3% increases in August and 5.5% in July. The peak rate of hiring for 2020, thus far, was in May, when it reached 9.7%. Construction layoffs have been below 3% since May and September’s rate was just 1.4%, the lowest layoff rate since the start of the JOLTS reports in 2001. Year-over-year, however, the job opening rate in construction declined to 3.1% rate, with 229,000 open positions. A reflection of the COVID-19 pandemic world. In September 2019 there were 330,000 open positions.