Construction Hiring Remains Subdued in June

WASHINGTON, DC — The development trade had 246,000 job openings on the final day of June, in response to an Related Builders and Contractors evaluation of information from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. JOLTS defines a job opening as any unfilled place for which an employer is actively recruiting. Trade job openings elevated by 14,000 final month however are down by 39,000 from the identical time final 12 months.

“Whereas industrywide job openings elevated in June, the share of all building positions which can be unfilled stays low by current requirements,” stated ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “Extra importantly, the hiring price through the first half of 2025 was decrease than through the first six months of any 12 months for the reason that begin of the information sequence in 2000. As a result of contractors have additionally been laying staff off at a traditionally gradual tempo, industrywide employment continues to edge greater, however few job openings and sluggish hiring recommend weak demand for labor.

“That stated, these knowledge probably replicate the truth that the residential section has struggled mightily this 12 months, whereas nonresidential employment knowledge have been extra upbeat,” stated Basu. “Fewer than 14% of ABC members anticipate their staffing ranges to lower through the second half of 2025, in response to ABC’s Construction Confidence Index. This implies that the nonresidential aspect of the trade will proceed so as to add jobs through the third and fourth quarter of 2025.”