198,000 US construction workers quit in September amid labour squeeze

A total of 198,000 workers quit during the month, while construction job openings rose to 298,000, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) analysis of the US Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS).

Industry job openings increased by 36,000 compared with August and were up by 92,000 year on year. JOLTS defines an opening as an unfilled position for which an employer is actively recruiting.

ABC chief economist Anirban Basu said the number of workers quitting was “a strong indication that the industry’s labor supply is once again tightening”.

Contractors were responding by retaining workers they might otherwise have let go, he said. Industry layoffs fell by 56,000 year on year, while the layoff rate remained below that recorded in any month before 2020.

“Reemerging worker shortages will put upward pressure on labour costs, a dynamic that will exacerbate the effects of high borrowing costs and ongoing materials price escalation,” Basu said.

The squeeze could place further pressure on contractors’ profitability. More than a quarter of contractors expect their profit margins to shrink over the next six months, according to ABC’s Construction Confidence Index.

Basu warned that the proportion expecting lower margins would likely rise if labour shortages continued to intensify into early 2027.