Dive Brief:
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Residential construction employment edged up to 2.68 million in January from 2.65 million the month prior and 2.53 million a year ago, according to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics employment data.
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Of the January employment count, 762,000 were builders and 1.92 million were specialty trade contractors.
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While the number of open jobs in the construction industry overall has dipped in recent months, the count of unfilled positions in the residential sector continues to grow, with a seasonally adjusted 148,000 construction jobs open in December, down from 174,000 in November but ahead of the 124,000 openings a year ago, per a National Association of Home Builders’ analysis of the latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, which is one month behind the BLS data.
Dive Insight:
The latest figures highlight the ongoing recovery in the housing sector, with jobs being added as building activity gains strength in response to continued demand for new-home construction.
Meanwhile, builders are facing a tight labor market, which is causing them to find new approaches to hiring that often result in them paying their trades a higher rate. “The only way to get the labor you need is to pay up for it,” David Piper, vice president of purchasing and architecture at Taylor Morrison, told Construction Dive recently. “If we don’t pay a fair market rate, houses don’t get built.”
Last month, housing analyst Ted Wilson told The Dallas Morning News that labor shortages were partly to blame for housing starts there falling 40% from a decade ago and in some cases adding $4,000 to the price of a new home.
In August, a survey of contractors by the Associated General Contractors of America found that more than two-thirds of companies are having difficulty finding suitable workers to fill hourly craft positions.
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