ABC Reveals Data Showing Decrease in Worker Demand Along With a Continuing Labor Shortage

The Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) recently came out with some shocking data about the labor shortage. The data shows the need for more workers has lessened but there is still a large labor shortage occurring.

According to the press release:

The construction industry had 423,000 job openings on the last day of October, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data from the U.S.Associated Builders and Contractors Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). JOLTS defines a job opening as any unfilled position for which an employer is actively recruiting. Industry job openings decreased by 4,000 in October but are up by 25,000 from the same time last year.

“The number of economywide job openings fell to 8.7 million in October, the lowest total since March 2021,” said ABC Chief Economist, Anirban Basu. “This is a strong indication that the demand for labor is slowing, although the supply of workers is still far too low to meet that demand. The number of open, unfilled jobs across the economy still exceeds the pre-pandemic level by more than 1.7 million."

Associated Builders and Contractors“While labor market tightness is easing across all economic segments, worker scarcity remains a pressing issue for the construction industry,” said Basu. “On the last day of October, 5% of construction positions were unfilled, which is well above the 3.9% industry job opening rate observed in February 2020. With nearly half of contractors intending to increase their staffing levels over the next six months, according to ABC’s Construction Confidence Index, the lack of available workers will remain a headwind for the construction industry over the next several quarters.”