{"id":32569,"date":"2025-10-01T09:28:53","date_gmt":"2025-10-01T16:28:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/construction-job-opening-rate-hits-near-10-year-low\/"},"modified":"2025-10-01T09:28:53","modified_gmt":"2025-10-01T16:28:53","slug":"construction-job-opening-rate-hits-near-10-year-low","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/construction-job-opening-rate-hits-near-10-year-low\/","title":{"rendered":"Construction job opening rate hits near-10-year low"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> [ad_1]<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"text-to-speech\">\n    <button class=\"text-to-speech__button button\"><br \/>\n        <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"text-to-speech__button__icon\" src=\"https:\/\/www.constructiondive.com\/static\/img\/play.svg?500116090725\" alt=\"-\"><br \/>\n        Listen to the article<br \/>\n        <span class=\"text-to-speech__button__audio-length\">3 min<\/span><br \/>\n    <\/button><\/p>\n<div class=\"text-to-speech__controls\">\n        <audio controls=\"\" class=\"js-text-to-speech\" preload=\"none\"><source src=\"https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/dmgi9movl\/video\/upload\/q_1\/v1759327764\/news\/text_to_speech\/job-opening-rate-construction-low-economy-labor_a6jvyq.wav\" type=\"audio\/mp3\"><\/source><\/audio><\/p>\n<div class=\"text-to-speech__controls__text\">\n            This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.constructiondive.com\/contact\/\" target=\"_blank\">feedback<\/a>.\n        <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h3 class=\"standard-heading\"><span><span><span><span><span><span>Dive Brief:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>The rate of <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bls.gov\/news.release\/jolts.nr0.htm\" target=\"_blank\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>open construction jobs<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span> dropped to its lowest point in nearly a decade, according to a Tuesday Bureau of Labor Statistics report, indicating contractors have decreased interest in hiring new positions in the near future.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>Construction counted 188,000 open jobs on the last day of the month, a drop of about 38% both month-to-month and year over year. In August, 2.2% of all construction jobs went unfilled, the lowest in almost ten years and a major dip from 3.5% the month prior.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>Combined with relatively low layoffs and discharges and spending decreases, economists suggest the job openings report indicates the industry is contracting, though the effects may be confined to the short term.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 class=\"standard-heading\"><span><span><span><span><span><span>Dive Insight:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>The 115,000 drop in open jobs may seem like whiplash among continued reports that construction <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.constructiondive.com\/news\/immigration-crackdowns-construction-labor-woes\/759160\/\" target=\"_blank\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>suffers from a dire need for workers<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span>, but the industry faces multiple headwinds that can cause workers to be furloughed.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>\u201cWhile this <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.org\/News-Media\/News-Releases\/abc-construction-job-opening-rate-falls-to-lowest-level-in-over-a-decade\" target=\"_blank\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>data series tends to be volatile<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span> on a month-to-month basis, the precipitous decline in job openings aligns with other indicators like construction spending and employment, both of which have fallen in recent months,\u201d said Anirban Basu, chief economist for Associated Builders and Contractors, in a release.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Additionally, the BLS does not differentiate between commercial and residential construction.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>\u201cThis mix of signals highlights a labor market that remains tight but is cooling in some respects. Contractors are still bringing on workers at a steady pace, and quits are slightly higher than a year ago, suggesting some mobility among workers,\u201d Macrina Wilkins, senior research analyst for the Associated General Contractors of America, told Construction Dive in an email.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>The number of quits in August increased by 19,000, or 15%, year over year, as the rate of quits rose to 1.8% from 1.5%.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>\u201cAt the same time, fewer new job postings point to a slowdown in demand, while layoffs are only modestly higher,\u201d Wilkins said. \u201cTogether, these figures show an industry still competing for skilled labor but with signs of easing pressure compared to last year.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Construction\u2019s rough month sticks out against the broader employment data landscape. The number and rate of job openings across all industries remained unchanged in August, the BLS said, and the report called out construction as the first industry with a major decrease in available positions.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>The government shutdown may create a murky understanding of jobs data. The Department of <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dol.gov\/sites\/dolgov\/files\/general\/plans\/dol-contingency-plan.pdf\" target=\"_blank\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>Labor\u2019s contingency plan<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span>, released Sept. 26, said it would cease operations for the BLS, which is set to release the jobs report Friday. The report has <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/09\/30\/business\/government-shutdown-economic-data.html\" target=\"_blank\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>likely already been finalized<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span>, the New York Times reported, but now it may be a while before contractors and economists have a full understanding of the employment situation in the U.S.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>[ad_2]<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.constructiondive.com\/news\/job-opening-rate-construction-low-economy-labor\/761582\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">This article was originally posted at Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[ad_1] Listen to the article 3 min This audio is auto-generated. 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Dive &#8230; <a title=\"Construction job opening rate hits near-10-year low\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/construction-job-opening-rate-hits-near-10-year-low\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Construction job opening rate hits near-10-year low\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[457],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32569","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-construction-dive","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32569","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32569"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32569\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32569"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32569"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32569"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}