Construction Job Openings Approach 400,000
The construction labor market remains tight, approaching an all-time high, as the industry sees a rising number of job openings year-over-year.
The count of open construction jobs increased slightly to 396,000 unfilled positions in March from a 383,000 rate in February. This is significantly higher than the 336,000 count recorded a year ago. The job openings rate in construction remained elevated at 4.9% in March.
The highest measure in the history of the data series (going back to late 2000) was 416,000 open jobs in April 2019. The housing market remains underbuilt and requires additional labor, lots and lumber and building materials to add inventory.
Looking forward, the construction job openings rate is likely to see increased upward pressure as both the residential and nonresidential construction sectors expand. 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
Material Costs
Jan 02, 2026
Trump Delays Higher Tariffs on Furniture, Kitchen Cabinets for One YearPresident Trump has announced he will be rolling back higher tariffs on furniture, kitchen cabinets and vanities that were set to go into effect on Jan. 1, 2026, until Jan. 1, 2027.
Housing Finance
Jan 02, 2026
FHA’s MMI Fund Capital Ratio Remained Solid in Fiscal Year 2025The capital reserve ratio for the Federal Housing Administration’s Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund ended the fiscal year at 11.47% — unchanged from the capital ratio for fiscal year 2024 and well above the congressionally mandated 2% capital ratio.
Latest Economic News
Economics
Dec 22, 2025
State-Level Employment Situation: September 2025In September 2025, nonfarm payroll employment was largely unchanged across states on a monthly basis, with a limited number of states seeing statistically significant increases or decreases. This reflects generally stable job counts across states despite broader labor market fluctuations. The data were impacted by collection delays due to the federal government shutdown.
Economics
Dec 19, 2025
Existing Home Sales Edge Higher in NovemberExisting home sales rose for the third consecutive month in November as lower mortgage rates continued to boost home sales, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). However, the increase remained modest as mortgage rates still stayed above 6% while down from recent highs. The weakening job market also weighed on buyer activity.
Economics
Dec 18, 2025
Lumber Capacity Lower Midway Through 2025Sawmill production has remained essentially flat over the past two years, according to the Federal Reserve G.17 Industrial Production report. This most recent data release contained an annual revision, which resulted in higher estimates for both production and capacity in U.S. sawmills.