Construction Job Market Shows Mixed Signals Amid Industry Shifts
Key Highlights
- Job openings in construction fell to their lowest since March, signaling potential cooling in some segments
- Despite fewer layoffs, shortages in skilled trades are driving up labor costs and impacting project timelines
- The residential construction sector continues to weaken, contrasting with growth in nonresidential and data center projects.
WASHINGTON, DC — The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) recorded 251,000 job openings on the last day of August. Industry job openings decreased by 48,000 in August, but are up by 38,000 from the same time in 2025.
JOLTS defines a job opening as any unfilled position for which an employer is actively recruiting.
“The August JOLTS data indicate that both the demand for and supply of construction workers are decreasing,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “Job openings fell to the lowest level since March, while just 99,000 construction workers were laid off for the month, the fewest in any month since the start of this data series in December 2000.
“These dynamics may seem contradictory but are consistent with ongoing weakness in the residential segment coupled with booming data center activity and the resulting scarcity of certain skilled trades workers,” said Basu. “Nonresidential contractors, which on net expect to increase their staffing levels over the next six months, according to ABC’s Construction Confidence Index, will likely experience faster labor cost escalation due to these shortages in certain occupational categories like electricians and HVAC workers.”
Visit abc.org/economics for the Construction Backlog Indicator and Construction Confidence Index, plus analysis of spending, employment, job openings and the Producer Price Index.