Contractors Hot Line is part of the Catalyst Communications Network publication family.
Contractors Hot Line is part of the Catalyst Communications Network publication family.
According to the Associated Builders and Contractors, based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, the construction sector had 274,000 job openings by the end of March. That’s a decrease of 182,000 from February, marking a decline of 17,000 compared to the same period last year.
According to JOLTS, a job opening is defined as any vacant position for which an employer is actively seeking candidates.
“Construction job openings plunged in March, falling to the lowest level since October 2020,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “While there are many headwinds facing the industry, including the prospect of higher-for-longer interest rates, this dismal number likely reflects a statistical aberration rather than a legitimate decline in demand. We know that the construction industry added jobs at a rapid pace in March, and both backlog and contractor confidence improved for the month, according to ABC's Construction Backlog Indicator and Construction Confidence Index, respectively.
“We have seen this kind of volatility in the JOLTS data before; construction job openings also plunged last March,” said Basu. “Which is to say, on a year-over-year basis, openings are only down modestly. The sizable decline in openings observed in March 2023 and 2024 may reflect seasonal hiring patterns that are not reflected in the BLS’s seasonal adjustment factors. Accordingly, these data should not be viewed as a sign of an industry slowdown, at least not without another month or two of data to corroborate it.”