Open Construction Job Numbers Confirm Housing Slowdown

If you need any more proof that the home construction business has had a serious downturn look no further than new Bureau of Labor Statistics data showing a 50% drop in open construction jobs in January, the most recent numbers available. 

It’s no secret that the housing market has slowed considerably, but new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics offers hard proof that the downturn is impactful.

Reporting for the month of January, the most recent statistics available, the Bureau indicated there were 248,000 unfilled construction jobs, representing a 50% drop from the month before. It was also 148,000 open jobs less than for January a year ago.

Associated Builders and Contractors chief economist Anirban Basu, while questioning the numbers, said the downturn in some sectors of the construction market including single-family building, could account for the drop.

Even with some backlogs in the non-residential sector of the construction industry, continued Federal Reserve policies that are driving up mortgage rates and slowing housing starts are likely to slow construction jobs as 2023 progresses. The subsequent slowdown in building materials, including wood, will no doubt correspond accordingly.

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