According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), the number of open and unfilled positions in the construction industry dropped in August.
The drop happened as home construction slowed in 2025.
The total number of open jobs in the economy remained virtually steady, rising from 7.21 million in July to 7.23 million in August.
The August reading was significantly lower than the 7.65 million estimate from a year ago, reflecting an overall weakening of the US labor market.
According to previous NAHB analysis, this figure must fall below 8 million on a consistent basis for the Federal Reserve to proceed with interest rate cuts.
With national job openings expected to remain below 8 million, the Fed should be able to decrease interest rates further in 2025.
The number of open construction sector jobs dropped from a revised 303,000 in July to 188,000 in August.
This represents a significant decrease in the number of open, unfilled construction jobs from the previous year (304,000).
The graphic below shows the downward trend of unfilled construction positions since the Fed raised the federal funds rate as home building declined.
The construction job openings rate fell to 2.2% in August, compared to 3.6% the previous year.
In August, the construction industry’s layoff rate dropped to 2.2%. In August, the quits rate moved up to 1.8%.
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