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Dive brief:
- The The construction industry had 413,000 open jobs on the last day of January, a 41 percent year-over-year increase, or 120,000 more unfilled positions, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Wednesday.
- The report measures the number of jobs for which employers are actively hiring, even though they remain unfilled. At the end of January, 4.4% of construction jobs were unfilled, down slightly from 4.7% in December and 5% a year earlier.
- Casualties have hardly changed compared to December, and have dropped by 19.6% year-on-year. Meanwhile, the industry accounted for about 40% more layoffs in January 2024 than in the same month in 2023.
Diving knowledge:
of January the dropout rate was the lowest — and its rate of layoffs and layoffs is the highest — since March 2023, according to Anirban Basuchief economist of Associated Builders and Contractors.
“Fortunately, this likely reflects the temporary effects of cold weather on the industry rather than any broader slowdown in construction activity,” Basu wrote in a statement about the BLS data. At the same time, he characterized the numbers as “indications of potential softening in demand for construction workers.”
It is a complicated time for work and one of possible change.
On the one hand, on March 11, a new Labor Department rule will redefine the Fair Labor Standards Act. definition of “independent contractor”, that is, more workers who were previously classified as contractors instead of employees will be considered the latter and, as such, be owed benefits that reflect that status.
The National Labor Relations Board final rule on joint employer status will also take effect on March 11, barring further delays. This rule could mean that more general contractors take responsibility for workers hired directly by subcontractors.
Meanwhile, construction is booming with investments in infrastructure and manufacturing leading to long backlogs, but many of these projects are often remote and far from a reliable pool of workers, meaning contractors have had to achieve get creative with how to customize your projects.
Despite these changes, ABC says most contractors expect to increase their staffing levels over the next six months.
