Hiring rate, job openings remain historically low

Dive Brief:

• Construction counted 3,000 more open jobs on the last day of May compared with April, according to a Bureau of Labor Statistics report released Tuesday. The industry had 245,000 unfilled positions at the end of the month.
• That change was minimal compared to the month before, but the current market has been soft in recent months compared to last year, according to Associated Builders and Contractors Chief Economist Anirban Basu. May 2025 had about 35% fewer open positions than the same month in 2024. 
• At the same time, layoffs also remained historically low, economists said, indicating that contractors are keen to hang onto their workers. “These figures indicate that contractors are becoming more cautious overall, scaling back on growth and expansion plans, but not turning to widespread layoffs,” said Macrina Wilkins, senior research analyst for the Associated General Contractors of America.

Dive Insight:

The reluctance to fire or layoff workers reflects an emphasis on labor retention, Wilkins said. 

“Even with fewer openings and hires, firms are holding on to their current workforce, signaling the continued value they place on skilled workers amid persistent labor shortages and uncertainty around project pipelines,” Wilkins said.

The year-to-date hiring rate in construction is lower than any other year in the series, which began 25 years ago, said Basu in a release.

But low hiring rates, low layoffs and fewer openings don’t paint the whole picture.

“Of course, it’s unclear how immigration policy uncertainty is affecting these data,” Basu said. “To the extent that a decline in the hiring of undocumented workers is not reflected, the industry could be significantly weaker than it appears.”

Indeed, Immigration Customs and Enforcement raids on jobsites ramped up in May, so the impact on job hiring data is not yet clear. The raids, designed to detain and deport unauthorized workers, not only stall active projects but could have a chilling effect as other jobs pause or assess their workforce risks and needs, experts say.

Nonetheless, Basu said contractors remain optimistic in the face of those numbers, with over half of ABC members reporting optimism for staffing in the second half of the year.