According to the BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) and NAHB analysis April 11, the number of open construction sector jobs rose to 169,000 in February. The cycle high is 238,000, set in July of last year.
The open position rate (job openings as a percent of total employment) for February increased to 2.4 per cent. On a 12-month moving average basis, the open position rate for the construction sector held steady at 2.7 per cent, near the cycle high.
Construction Employment, US
The overall trend for open construction jobs has been increasing since the end of the Great Recession, according to the BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) and NAHB analysis released Tuesday.
The hiring rates in December and January, 5.9 per cent and 5.7 per cent respectively, mark the strongest two months since late 2014.
The construction sector hiring rate, as measured on a twelve-month moving average basis, held at 5.1 per cent in February. The twelve-month moving average for layoffs was steady (2.6 per cent), remaining in a range set last autumn. Quits have been rising recently, increasing to 2.4 per cent in February. This is the highest rates of quits for the cycle.
Residential construction employment now stands at 2.693 million, bro- ken down as 768,000 builders and 1.93 million residential specialty trade contractors.
Over the last 12 months home builders and remodelers have added 113,000 jobs on a net basis. Since the low point of industry employment following the Great Recession, residential construction has gained 710,200 positions.
In March, the unemployment rate for construction workers stood at 6.9 per cent on a seasonally adjusted basis. The unemployment rate for the construction occupation had been on general decline since reaching a peak rate of 22 per cent in February 2010, although it has levelled off in the 6 per cent to 7 per cent range since the middle of 2016.