Today’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey release from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) shows that job openings in the construction industry decreased in September to a rate of 1.9%, after remaining flat in June, July, and August, at a seasonally adjusted rate of 2.1%. This is only a 30 basis point (bp) difference from September 2014, when the rate of construction job openings was 1.6%.
Construction job openings were at their highest in February 2007, at a rate of 3.5%. The closest the construction industry has come to matching that rate was in March, with a job openings rate of 2.6%.
Hires and total separations in the construction industry both decreased in September after increasing in August. Construction hires decreased 30 bps to 4.9%, and total separations decreased 10 bps to 4.8%. The rate of hires remains above the rate of total separations however, a good sign that overall, jobs are being added to the construction industry. This is a big contrast to September 2009, when the rate of hires was 5.4%, and total separations surpassed it at 6.6%.
Read the full release from BLS >>
