Construction Labor Churn at Historic Lows in November

The construction industry had just 276,000 job openings on the last day of November 2024, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) analysis of data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). JOLTS defines a job opening as any unfilled position for which an employer is actively recruiting. Industry job openings increased by 17,000 last month but are down by 178,000 from the same time last year.

“Construction hiring fell to the second-slowest rate on record in November 2024,” said Anirban Basu, ABC chief economist. “That’s especially meaningful given that the slowest rate occurred in April 2020 as the pandemic brought construction activity to a standstill. At the same time, the rates at which workers were laid off or quit also remained near historical lows, suggesting that both contractors and their employees were in a wait-and-see mode in November.

“Despite this relative stasis, industrywide job openings increased in November, rising to the highest level since August,” Basu said. “More than half of contractors expect to increase their staffing levels over the next six months, according to ABC’s Construction Confidence Index, while fewer than 10% expect to decrease them, a sign that hiring may rebound from the recent lull in the coming months.”