Construction Job Openings Increase Amid 'Struggle' to Fill Positions
Total job openings are up 25,000 when compared to the previous month.
Job openings reached 259,000 in the construction industry in April, according to the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey recently released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The figure is 25,000 higher than the number reported in March, and 52,000 higher than the number of openings in April 2025.
Anirban Basu, chief economist at Associated Builders and Contractors, said the higher number of openings indicates that contractors are “increasingly struggling” to fill vacancies. “Fewer construction workers were laid off in April than in any month since the first half of 2022, and industry-wide job openings, while still relatively low by historical standards, are up more than 25% over the past year,” he said in a statement.
Hires reached 323,000 in April, up 17,000 from March but down by 26,000 year-over-year. Total separations, which include layoffs, discharges, quits and other separations, stood at 295,000. The figure represents a 9,000 monthly drop, and is down 49,000 for the year.
“These dynamics likely stem from immigration policy and the shrinking number of undocumented workers, as well as acute shortages of certain trades workers, including those involved in data center construction,” said Basu. “Labor availability is unlikely to improve in the short term.”
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