Dive Brief:

• The National Association of Home Builders, in an analysis of the latest BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) data, has found that March unfilled positions in the construction industry rose to 210,000, the largest monthly figure since May 2007.
• The percent of job openings compared to total employment, the open position rate, was 3% in March and, on a three-month moving average, 2.7%.
• NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz reported that while unfilled positions are a good sign for later hiring, a large number also indicates that construction companies could be having a harder time finding skilled workers.

Dive Insight:

The construction March hiring rate, Dietz said, was 4.9%, but the quits rate increased to 2.4%, possibly indicating that employers are having a hard time holding onto employees. And although April residential construction employment numbers decreased by 3,800, hiring is still fairly robust with a six-month average of nearly 19,000 worker gains.

This month the Associated General Contractors of America reported that construction employment increased by just 1,000 jobs in April, mostly as the result of greater-than-normal hiring in the first quarter amidst unseasonably warm weather. Although the AGC echoed the NAHB's statement that the residential sector lost 3,800 jobs, the trade association said that nonresidential construction added 4,400 jobs. Nevertheless, they too are concerned about the future ability of contractors to meet hiring needs.

Because of this, the AGC has created the AGC Career Center, an online employment resource with a goal to make it easier for employers and employees to find each other, particularly during times of skilled labor shortages.