198,000 construction workers quit their jobs in September, the most in any month since the first half of 2023. That’s according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics JOLTS data.
Openings climbed too, leaving even more spots on the board to fill.
Seats to Fill:
298,000 construction job openings on the last day of September
Up 36,000 from the previous month
Up 92,000 from a year earlier
JOLTS counts an opening as any unfilled position an employer is actively recruiting for.
Keeping the Crew Together: ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu said contractors have responded by holding on to workers they otherwise might part with.
The layoff numbers he cited show it. Industry-wide layoffs are down 56,000 year over year, and the layoff rate is lower than in any month on record before 2020.
Basu called the rise in quits “a strong indication that the industry’s labor supply is once again tightening.”
Squeeze on the Bottom Line: Basu expects returning shortages to push labor costs higher. That would pile onto high borrowing costs and ongoing materials price escalation, two pressures contractors are already carrying.
More than 1 in 4 contractors expect their profit margins to shrink over the next six months, per ABC’s Construction Confidence Index
Basu said that share will likely grow if shortages keep intensifying into early 2027
Rising quits, rising openings and falling layoffs all point the same way. If Basu is right, labor costs are the next number headed up.
🥾Want to advertise in TheJobWalk? Learn More🥾
