This audio is automatically generated. Please let us know if you have any comments.
Dive Brief:
- Construction job postings rose in November after reaching one “extraordinarily low level” in October, according to an analysis of data from Associated Builders and Contractors by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- Construction employers reported 292,000 job offers on the last day of November, 90,000 more than in October and 15,000 more than the same time last year, according to the report.
- Project uncertainty, however, continues to suppress construction contracting activity as a whole, keeping hiring historically slow, according to industry economists.
Diving knowledge:
The November increase marks the first year-over-year increase in construction job postings since July, said Anirban Basu, ABC’s chief economist. The pace of layoffs in the construction industry also fell to the lowest level since 2025, according to the report.
That matches the second-lowest rate ever recorded. Despite these positive trends, many companies maintain a “low-fire, low-fire hiring position,” according to a statement from the Associated General Contractors of America sent to Construction Dive.
Hiring rates as a share of total employment reached 4.1%, matching the November 2024 rate and the lowest in the 25-year history of November readings, according to AGC. Basu reinforced this cautious stance at ABC’s launch.
“While these dynamics suggest that demand for construction workers accelerated in November, hiring remains slower than at any time on record before 2020,” Basu said. “The month-on-month volatility in the JOLTS data and the persistently slow pace of hiring could temper the optimism inspired by today’s release.”
The numbers suggest contractors are still advertising for workers, but are being cautious about adding to their current headcount, Ken Simonson, AGC’s chief economist, told Construction Dive. this hesitation comes at once when many property owners are “delaying, canceling or scaling back projects,” he said.
However, contractors remain relatively optimistic about expanding their staffing levels in the first half of 2026, according to the ABC report.
