According to the August release of the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), construction jobs, especially in the housing market, declined month to month. Despite the slight decrease from 299,000 in July to 251,000 in August, the sector still remains stronger than a year ago.
Quits in the sector remained stagnant at 2.2% while the layoff rate decreased to 1.3% in August.
“The August JOLTS data indicate that both the demand for and supply of construction workers are decreasing,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “Job openings fell to the lowest level since March, while just 99,000 construction workers were laid off for the month, the fewest in any month since the start of this data series in December 2000.
