The State of Construction Job Openings for July

The National Association of Home Builders says attracting skilled labor remains a top priority for construction firms as demand remains high. Construction job openings for July increased to 321,000, a 4.2% growth rate, according to data from the BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. One year ago, there were 298,000 unfilled construction sector openings. NAHB says to meet demand, there needs to be more labor, lots, lumber, and building materials.

Overall, hiring in the construction sector remained solid in July, increasing to a 5.2% rate. The post-virus peak rate of hiring occurred in May 2020 (10.3%) as a rebound took hold in home building and remodeling. Hiring has generally slowed since that time, with the exception of a weather-related rebound in March 2021. Hiring has been impeded due to a lack of workers.

Construction sector layoffs ticked down in July to a 2.4% rate. In April 2020, the layoff rate was 10.9%. Since that time however, the sector layoff rate has been below 3%, with the exception of February 2021 due to weather effects.

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