Construction counted 3,000 more open jobs on the last day of May compared with April, according to a recent Bureau of Labor Statistics report. The industry had 245,000 unfilled positions at the end of the month. That change was minimal compared to the month before, but the current market has been soft in recent months compared to last year. May 2025 had about 35 percent fewer open positions than the same month in 2024. At the same time, layoffs also remained historically low, indicating that contractors are keen to hang onto their workers. “These figures indicate that contractors are becoming more cautious overall, scaling back on growth and expansion plans, but not turning to widespread layoffs,” says Macrina Wilkins, senior research analyst for the Associated General Contractors of America.
The year-to-date hiring rate in construction is lower than any other year in the series, which began 25 years ago. “It’s unclear how immigration policy uncertainty is affecting these data,” adds Associated Builders and Contractors Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “To the extent that a decline in the hiring of undocumented workers is not reflected, the industry could be significantly weaker than it appears.”
Source: www.constructiondive.com