US Construction Job Openings Decline in August

A closer look at the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) for August, with analysis from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), shows that construction sector job openings declined to 251,000 from 299,000 in July. Openings remained above the 213,000 recorded a year earlier.

The construction job openings rate fell to 2.9% in August but remained above the 2.5% rate recorded a year ago. The construction hiring rate declined to 3.7%, down from 4.1% a year earlier.

NAHB noted that while home building employment has declined over the past year, other sectors of the construction industry have expanded. Demand for data center construction workers has increased 46.0% year to date.

The construction layoff rate declined to 1.3% in August, while the quits rate was unchanged at 2.2%.