Construction Industry Hits Record Number of Open Jobs

June 06, 2022 from Floor Focus FloorDaily News

Washington, DC, June 6, 2022 – The count of open construction jobs jumped to a record-high 449,000 unfilled positions in April, according to the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is the highest measure in the history of the data series, which dates back to late 2000.

The job openings rate in construction remained elevated at 5.6% in April, with 449,000 open positions in the sector versus the 329,000 recorded a year ago.

Construction sector layoffs were 1.5% this April versus 10.8% a year ago. The layoff rate trended lower in 2021 due to the skilled-labor shortage and remains low in 2022 as the market remains tight, the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB) reports.

NAHB notes that the market is now slowing due to higher interest rates and speculates that this will likely be reflected in construction labor market data in the months ahead.