Dive Brief:
- U.S. construction measured 236,000 open, unfilled jobs on the last day of January, a 42% drop from the same month in 2024, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics released March 11.
- The monthly report measures jobs for which employers are actively hiring. Though January job openings were up 15% from the end of December, the general decrease in openings in recent months has indicated a trend of uncertainty.
- “The continued decline in job openings suggests that while demand for workers remains, contractors are becoming more cautious about hiring amid uncertainty about tariffs, project pipelines and future economic conditions,” Macrina Wilkins, senior research analyst for the Associated General Contractors of America, told Construction Dive.
Dive Insight:
Despite job openings remaining reduced at the end of January, there was much turnover in the month, noted Anirban Basu, chief economist at Associated Builders and Contractors.
“Both hires and separations — including layoffs, discharges and quits — accelerated to the fastest rate since the first half of 2024,” Basu said in a statement.
Total discharges year-over-year were nearly identical, with 1,000 fewer in January 2025 compared to the same month a year earlier. Total discharges did increase 25%, however, from December 2024 to January 2025.
Layoffs dropped about 18.5% from the previous year.
“Although layoffs have also declined, the sharp drop in job openings indicates that firms are hesitant to take on new projects or expand their workforce at this time as contractors navigate an evolving and uncertain economic landscape,” Wilkins said.
Meanwhile, quits leapt about 21% year over year and 47% from December.
Basu acknowledged concerns over volatile trade policy stemming from President Donald Trump’s back-and-forth tariff policies may have slowed construction and therefore softened demand for jobs. Nonetheless, ABC members indicated their intent to continue to hire more workers in the coming months.
