Construction Job Openings Surge to Record High
The labor market continues to tighten, especially for the construction industry.
The count of open construction jobs increased to 410,000 unfilled positions in October, the highest measure in the history of the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics data series (going back to late 2000).
The housing market remains underbuilt and requires additional labor, lots, and lumber and building materials to add inventory.
The job openings rate in construction surged to 5.4% in October, with 410,000 open positions in the sector. This is significantly higher than the 253,000 count recorded a year ago.
Looking forward, the construction job openings rate is likely to see increased upward pressure as both the residential and nonresidential construction sectors trend higher. Attracting skilled labor will remain a key objective for construction firms in the coming quarters and will become more challenging as the labor market strengthens and the unemployment rate declines.
NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz provides more analysis in this Eye on Housing blog post.
Latest from NAHBNow
Legal | Material Costs
May 16, 2025
Court of International Trade Hears Arguments Against Trump TariffsA three-judge panel at the U.S. Court of International Trade this week heard oral arguments in one of several pending challenges to the “Liberation Day” tariffs imposed on April 2.
Economics
May 16, 2025
Single-Family Starts Down on Economic and Tariff UncertaintyOverall housing starts increased 1.6% in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.36 million units, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau.
Latest Economic News
Economics
May 15, 2025
Cost of Credit Eases for Builders and DevelopersThe cost of credit for residential Land Acquisition, Development & Construction (AD&C) eased in the first quarter of 2025, according to NAHB’s survey on AD&C Financing.
Economics
May 15, 2025
Soft Spring Selling Season Takes a Toll on Builder ConfidenceBuilder confidence fell sharply in May on growing uncertainties stemming from elevated interest rates, tariff concerns, building material cost uncertainty and the cloudy economic outlook. However, 90% of the responses received in May were tabulated prior to the May 12 announcement that the United States and China agreed to slash tariffs for 90 days to allow trade talks to continue.
Economics
May 14, 2025
Permit Activity Declines in March 2025Permits continue a downhill trend for the third month in a row. Over the first three months of 2025, the total number of single-family permits issued year-to-date (YTD) nationwide reached 232,221. On a year-over-year (YoY) basis, this is a decline of 3.8% over the March 2024 level of 241311. For multifamily, the total number of permits issued nationwide reached 113,344. This is 3.7% below the March 2024 level of 117,695.