The count of construction job openings declined in September as hiring in the home building sector remained slow. The average monthly employment gain for builders and remodelers has been approximately 4,700 over the last six months.
According to the BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) and NAHB analysis, the number of open construction sector jobs (on a seasonally adjusted basis) dipped to 122,000 in September from 136,000 in August. The cycle high of 168,000 was set during March.
Monthly employment data for October 2015 indicate that total employment in home building/remodeling stands at 2.468 million, broken down as 698,000 builders and 1.77 million residential specialty trade contractors.
In October, the unemployment rate for construction workers increased to 7.2 per cent on a seasonally adjusted basis, up slightly from the cycle low of 6.5 per cent set during July. The unemployment rate for the construction occupation reached a peak rate of 22 per cent in February 2010.