By Robert Dietz | NAHB
The count of unfilled jobs in the construction sector declined in December. The fall in open jobs followed several months of strong of net job gains for the residential construction sector. Over the course of November and December, for example, home builders and remodelers added 32,000 jobs on a net basis.
According to the BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) and NAHB analysis, the number of open construction sector jobs (on a seasonally adjusted basis) declined to 158,000 in December. This total marks only a small increase relative to the December 2016 total (140,000). The open position rate (job openings as a percent of total employment) for December fell to 2.2%. On a smoothed, twelve-month moving average basis, the open position rate for the construction sector ticked up to 2.5%.
