September Construction Job Openings, Distorted by Storms, Decrease by 40,000

WASHINGTON, DC — The construction industry had 288,000 job openings on the last day of September, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. JOLTS defines a job opening as any unfilled position for which an employer is actively recruiting. Industry job openings decreased by 40,000 last month and are down by 134,000 from the same time last year.

“September’s data, which show a precipitous 32% decline in construction industry job openings over the past year, likely overstate the degree that demand for construction workers has slowed,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “Hurricane Helene, which did not dissipate until Sept. 29, temporarily suppressed the number of open construction positions across the Southeast. Because the BLS measures job openings on the final day of the relevant month, the data in this JOLTS release are almost certainly distorted. Approximately 45% of contractors intend to increase their staffing levels over the next six months, according to ABC’s Construction Confidence Index, suggesting that the industrywide demand for labor remains strong.”

Visit abc.org/economics for the Construction Backlog Indicator and Construction Confidence Index, plus analysis of spending, employment, job openings and the Producer Price Index.