Dive brief:
- Construction had 350,000 job openings on the last day of August, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The number of jobs fell less than 1% from July, but up around 1.5% year-on-year.
- The rate of jobs for which construction employers are actively hiring has remained largely unchanged this summer: From May to August, the rate decreased slightly from 4.6% to 4.2%.
- In particular, the number of casualties in construction fell by 15,000 from July to August, which Anirban Basu, chief economist at Associated Builders and Contractors, attributed to easing labor restrictions in industries that compete with construction for labor. According to the BLS, resignations can indicate the ability and willingness of workers to leave jobs for other positions.
Diving knowledge:
“The number of open and unoccupied construction sites declined in August, but remains higher than a year ago and the pre-pandemic level,” Basu wrote.
Basu predicted last month the high demand in the labor market should continue to cool.
The BLS described the number of nationwide hires, total separations, resignations and layoffs as “little changed,” indicating some stability.
However, high demand for construction workers likely won’t go away, Basu said, as it has for months. Contractors will continue to look to expand staff over the next six months, so any labor improvements will help “keep project costs under control.”
