The count of open, unfilled positions in the construction industry increased in July, per the June Bureau of Labor Statistics Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) as the national labor market cooled.
The number of open jobs for the overall economy decreased from 7.36 million in June to 7.18 million in July. The July reading was notably lower than the 7.50 million estimate from a year ago and reflects an overall cooling of the U.S employment market.
Previous NAHB analysis indicated that this number had to fall below 8 million on a sustained basis for the Federal Reserve to move forward on interest rate reductions. With estimates remaining below 8 million for national job openings, the Fed, in theory, should be able to cut further despite a recent pause. There is growing pressure on the Fed to do so.
Running counter to the national trend, the number of open construction sector jobs increased from a revised 242,000 level in June to 306,000 in July. This marks an increase of open, unfilled construction jobs than that registered a year ago (229,000). The chart below notes the declining trend that has been in place since the Fed raises the federal funds rate but with the recent uptick for unfilled positions in construction.
The construction job openings rate increased to 3.5% in July, higher than the 2.7% estimated a year ago.
The layoff rate in construction increased to 2.8% in July, the highest rate since March 2023. The quits rate declined to 0.9% in July, the lowest recorded for the construction sector (data starts in 2000). The construction market appears to have experienced considerable churn in July, with job openings rising, quits very low, and layoffs increasing. Future data will allow for identifying trends.
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