
Construction job openings posted a monthly decline in October, but remained higher on a year-over-year (YOY) basis, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' (BLS) Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). The estimated number of job openings declined by 17,000 to 311,000 in October, the National Association of Home Builders' (NAHB) Eye on Housing survey reports. The October 2019 count for unfilled jobs is 12% higher than the estimated count for unfilled jobs in October 2018.
The open positions rate (job openings as a percentage of total employment plus current job openings) dipped to 4% in October, after reaching a cycle high of 5.5% in April. On a smoothed, twelve-month moving average basis, the open position rate for the construction sector held steady at 4.3%. The peak (smoothed) rate during the building boom prior to the recession was just below 2.7%. For the current cycle, the sector has been above that rate since October 2016.
The overall trend for open construction jobs has been increasing since the end of the Great Recession. This matches NAHB and other survey data revealing that access to skilled labor remains a top business challenge for builders, affecting a broad set of occupations. However, ongoing modest growth rates for housing construction are likely to place downward pressure on construction job openings in future data releases.
The construction sector hiring rate, as measured on a twelve-month moving average basis, did increase to 5.5% in October as the housing rebound continued. The twelve-month moving average for layoffs ticked up to 2.7%, continuing a rising trend in recent months, likely connected to some market churn associated with housing affordability headwinds.
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