Diving overview:

• Open construction jobs Fell by 55,000 to 217,000 on the last day in December compared to the last day in November, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Tuesday. The report measures the number of positions for which employers actively seek workers.
• The openings fell by 50% on an annual basis. The number of new workers hired in the industry – 301,000 – decreased by 16% years.
• In addition, entrepreneurs or dismissed 147,000 workers, relatively unchanged from the month before, dismissed, but 15% less than in December 2023.

Diving insight:

“The construction industry employed at an unprecedented pace in December,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu In a news message. “The employment rate fell to 3.6% for the month, the lowest level of post apart from the pandemic affected month of April 2020. This slowdown is a direct result of reduced demand for labor; Industry -crossing job openings have dropped exactly 50% over the past year. “

December’s decrease in the job openings comes after a major decline in the summer followed by A light uptick in November.

Despite these signs of weak demand for labor, both layoffs remain and end extremely low according to historical standards, says Basu.

“It is possible that the weak demand for construction work is the effect of cold weather and slower activity during the transition between the president’s administrations,” he said, noting that a majority of entrepreneurs intend to increase their staffing levels over the next six months, according to ABC’s building confidence indexindicating that employment could be retrieved during the first half of 2025.