The newest updates in the construction market, as reported by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, found that construction labor has declined in recent months. June saw a decrease in the number of available construction jobs by 71,000. This 17.5% drop came just two months after April saw the highest construction job openings ever recorded.

 

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) gave their thoughts on the construction market in a news release in which the association stated, "The housing market remains underbuilt and requires additional labor, lots and lumber and building materials to add inventory. However, the market is slowing due to higher interest rates, yielding a slowing of the count of unfilled positions in the sector."

It was also reported that, despite slow building activity, construction sector layoffs were low in June at a 1.7% rate (compared to 10.8% in April 2020). The NAHB continued with their comments in saying that attracting skilled labor will be a key objective for construction companies. "While a slowing housing market will take some pressure off tight labor markets, the long-term labor challenge will persist beyond an ongoing macro slowdown."

https://www.nahb.org/blog/2022/08/construction-labor-market-cools-in-june