The number of vacant, unfilled positions in the construction industry remained stable despite a housing slowdown, according to the April Bureau of Labor Statistics Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS).
The number of open jobs in the total economy climbed marginally, from 7.20 million in March to 7.39 million in April.
This is significantly lower than the 7.62 million estimate from a year ago, reflecting a softening aggregate labor market.
A previous NAHB study indicated that this figure needs to fall below 8 million consistently for the Federal Reserve to proceed with interest rate cuts.
With national job openings expected to continue below 8 million, the Fed should be able to cut further despite a recent pause.
Tariff measures, on the other hand, may cause the Fed to stand pat in the coming quarters.
The number of open construction sector jobs remained virtually steady in April, from a revised 251,000 in March to 248,000.
Despite this, there are much fewer open, unfilled construction jobs than a year ago (326,000), owing to a downturn in construction activity.
The chart below shows the recent decrease in the construction job openings rate, which has returned to its 2019 lows.
The construction job openings rate remained constant at 2.9% in April, however slightly lower year on year from 3.8%.
In April, the construction industry’s layoff rate rose to 1.9%. The quits rate fell to 1.8% for the month.
[Read more about this topic on Eyeonhousing.org]