WASHINGTON, Aug. 1—The construction industry had 374,000 job openings on the last day of June, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. JOLTS defines a job opening as any unfilled position for which an employer is actively recruiting. Industry job openings declined by 5,000 last month and are down 9,000 from the same time last year.

“Some will focus on the fact that construction job openings declined in June,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “But the real story is that, despite massive interest rate increases and tighter credit conditions facing developers and others that purchase construction services, the number of unfilled jobs remains so elevated by historical standards. With a plurality of contractors indicating that they intend to increase staffing levels over the next six months, according to ABC’s Construction Confidence Index, many will continue to report that their leading challenge is the retention and recruitment of highly trained construction craftspeople.”