“Construction job openings plunged in August, falling to the lowest rate in nearly a decade,” Anirban Basu, ABC's chief economist, said in a statement. “While this data series tends to be volatile on a month-to-month basis, the precipitous decline in job openings aligns with other indicators like construction spending and employment, both of which have fallen in recent months."

The number of hires reached 353,000 in August, up from 331,000 the previous months while total separations, which includes quits, layoffs and discharges, as well as any other job separation, rose to 351,000 from July’s 316,000. On a yearly basis, total job openings were down 116,000 positions since August 2024.

“Recent data has made it abundantly clear that the construction industry is currently contracting,” said Basu. However, “contractors remain relatively optimistic about the next six months, according to ABC’s Construction Confidence Index.”