The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) program of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its January data last week. During the month, the layoff rate for construction jobs declined to 1.0 %, the quits rate followed with a decrease to 1.7%. The industry remained relatively plateaued compared to a year ago. However, flat is undeniably better than falling. With the spring season kicking in, openings should increase across the nation and especially in the northeast.
While in the overall economy the open jobs reportedly increased from from 5.83 million in December to 6.20 million in January. This is a slight decrease from the year before at 6.55 million.
“The current level of open jobs is down measurably from three years ago due to declines in construction activity, particularly in housing,” said NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz. “However, recent gains for nonresidential construction combined with soft conditions for housing have left the number of job openings in construction flat.”
