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Dive Brief:
- Open construction jobs rose 17,000 to 276,000 on the last day of November compared with the last day of October, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Tuesday. The report measures the number of positions for which employers are actively seeking workers.
- The increase comes after a big drop in openings after the summer, with 40% fewer jobs at the end of November than in the same month in 2023. Of all the jobs of construction, 3.8% remained unoccupied in November, comparable with previous months.
- In addition, contractors hired 317,000 new workers and laid off or laid off 114,000, both relatively unchanged from a year earlier. Economists said the report signals unease and uncertainty about the impact of the presidential election and next year.
Diving knowledge:
Although only a slight drop from the previous year, November hiring rate it was the second-slowest on record in November, according to Anirban Basu, chief economist at Associated Builders and Contractors.
“This is particularly significant given that the slowest pace occurred in April 2020 as the pandemic halted construction activity,” Basu said. “At the same time, the rates at which workers were fired or quit also remained near historic lows, suggesting that both contractors and their employees were in standby mode in November.”
Still, the ABC’s construction confidence report indicates that most contractors still intend to increase their workforce, Basu said.
Macrina Wilkins, senior research analyst at the Associated General Contractors of America, noted the continued trend of low job offers over the past four months, especially compared to the one-year period.
“While the industry is still adding jobs, growth has slowed significantly,” Wilkins told Construction Dive. “This decline highlights current workforce challenges, such as companies struggling to find and hire skilled workers, likely combined with growing uncertainty about what 2025 will bring.”
