JOLTS for March falls to lowest level in almost two years
U.S. job openings as recorded by the Bureau of Labor Statistics fell to 9.6 million in March, the lowest level since April of 2021. This marks the third consecutive month of decline and points to ongoing success in the cooling of the labor market. The construction sector faced similar declines with the number of openings in the industry falling from 404,000 in February to 341,000 in March.
Additionally, though hires increased 33,000 in the construction industry, layoffs and discharges more than offset this gain with an increase of 112,000. This data has been volatile of late, reflecting the ebb and flow of project starts and completions. This is likely to continue through the year as Dodge Construction Network construction starts ease due to the slowing economy. Regardless, lack of skilled labor will remain a significant pinch point for the sector and will serve to hold back industry growth in the years to come.
