WASHINGTON, Aug. 2—The construction industry had 334,000 job openings in 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 decreased by 71,000 last month but are up 13,000 from the same time last year.

In June, construction workers quit their jobs at a faster rate (2.3%) than they were laid off or discharged (1.7%). June represented the 16th consecutive month in which quits outpaced or equaled layoffs and discharges.

“While debate regarding whether or not the United States is in recession rages on, one thing appears clear: the U.S. economy is poised to slow,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “What had been an economy beset largely by issues of supply is now becoming one faced with both supply chain issues and weakening demand for goods and services.

“Among the segments experiencing the sharpest reduction in job openings was construction,” said Basu. “In May, the national construction industry had 405,000 available, unfilled jobs. By June, this number had declined to 334,000. While that remains a significant number of job openings, demand for workers is clearly fading due to rising borrowing costs, increasingly pervasive pessimism and growing risk of recession. These factors have diminished contractor profit margin expectations, as indicated by ABC’s Construction Confidence Index.”