Happenings

JOLTS: Nationally Construction Job Openings Down, But...Share this on Facebook

According to an analysis of the latest U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Openings and Turnover Survey (JOLTS), “national construction job openings declined toward the end of 2019 but remain at historically high levels. While job openings across all industries are down on a year over year basis for the first time since 2009, the number of open positions remains higher than the number of unemployed Americans.

The decline may have a silver lining according to Mile High CRE, “The drop in job openings could be attributed factors such as ongoing economic growth and the reentry of many discouraged workers into the workforce.The nation’s labor force participation rate recently increased to 63.4 percent, with many people who had previously indicated that they were not looking for work returning to the labor market.” 

Anirban Basu—author of the report for Marcum, LLP, an accounting and advisory service firm—offered some further insight into the change: “It may be that the number of job openings has slipped because employers, who report growing difficulty finding qualified workers, have given up looking. With the current expansion setting records for durability and unemployment at roughly a 50-year low, it is also possible that employers are discouraged, including in construction.”

Read the whole story here.