Slowing Construction Labor Market

This growth in the openings rate (red line), amid a weakening labor market, is a possible contradiction worth examining in future months. It could be a data issue, or it could be sign of a structural problem in the labor market.
Courtesy of NAHB

Bureau of Labor Statistics data from the June release of the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey are consistent with the economic weakness currently reflected in significant stock market declines.

It’s been forecasted that 2011 will be a year of a small net expansion of construction sector employment. However, job openings for construction fell in June, perhaps suggesting some slowing of construction activity growth in the early Fall.

With respect to the economy as a whole, for a second straight month layoffs were at a rate of 1.4 percent of total employment, the highest level since mid-2010. Nonetheless, the job openings rate for May and June was 2.3 percent, matching the highest rate of openings since the middle of 2008.

One possible explanation is that continued weakness in housing is limiting the ability of people to move from places where jobs are being eliminated to places where employment is in demand.

– Courtesy of NAHB