US Construction Labor Market Continues to Soften in December
Construction Labor Market Softens
A closer look at the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey for December, with additional analysis by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), reveals that the number of open construction sector jobs declined from a revised 272,000 in November to just 217,000 in December.
The number of open and unfilled construction jobs is down from 434,000 a year ago. NAHB attributes this decrease to a slowdown in construction activity driven by elevated interest rates.
In December, the construction job openings rate fell to 2.5%, down sharply from 5.1% a year earlier and the sector’s lowest openings rate since 2017.
Meanwhile, the layoff rate in construction remained low at 1.8%, while the quits rate declined to 1.4%—the lowest since 2020Q3.
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