The labor shortage in the construction sector contnues. Eye on Housing reports:

The count of unfilled jobs in the construction sector increased in July, reaching yet another post-Great Recession high level. The rate of open construction sector jobs also matched a prior cyclical high.

According to the BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) and NAHB analysis, the number of open construction sector jobs increased to 273,000 in July. The prior post-recession high count of open, unfilled construction jobs was 267,000 in June. For July 2017, the count was 255,000.

The open position rate (job openings as a percentage of total employment plus current job openings) held at 3.6% in July. The rate was 3.5% last July. On a smoothed, twelve-month moving average basis, the open position rate for the construction sector grew slightly to 3.1%, a post-recession high. The peak (smoothed) rate during the building boom prior to the recession was just below 2.7%. For the current cycle, the sector has been above that rate since November 2016.

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