Early 2020 labor market data is of reduced value given the large number of economic impacts associated with the coronavirus. However, such data helps indicate where the economy was headed before experiencing shocks at the beginning of March. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, construction job openings posted year-over-year declines at the start of 2020.
The estimated number of job openings declined from 299,000 in January 2019 to 274,000 in January 2020.
The open positions rate (job openings as a percentage of total employment plus current job openings) increased to 3.5% in January, after reaching a cycle high of 5.7% in April. On a smoothed, twelve-month moving average basis, the open position rate for the construction sector held steady at 4.1%. The peak (smoothed) rate during the building boom prior to the recession was just below 2.7%. For the current cycle, the sector has been above that rate since October 2016.
However, expected economic slowing due to the coronavirus is likely to have measurable impacts on the number of construction job openings in the months ahead.