Construction Job Openings Hit Two-Year High as Data Centers Fuel Demand

Construction Job Openings Hit Two-Year High as Data Centers Fuel Demand

Construction job openings climbed to a nearly two-year high in July, Engineering News-Record reports, citing an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of federal labor data that also found the quits rate holding below 2%.

Market Impact

Job openings in construction hit 326,000 in July, according to the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey released Sept. 1 by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s 28,000 more than June and 21,000 above July 2025, marking the highest reading in roughly two years. Hires jumped by 47,000 month over month and are up 33,000 year over year, while total separations fell 3,000 for the month even as they rose 11,000 annually. The monthly drop in separations came entirely from layoffs, discharges, and other exits, since quits actually increased by 5,000.

“Contractor hiring… accelerated for the month, while layoff activity slowed,” said Anirban Basu, chief economist at Associated Builders and Contractors, in a press release cited by ENR. “This meaningful improvement in labor demand is a function of insatiable demand for data centers and the accompanying strength in power-related construction.” Basu also pointed to ABC’s Construction Confidence Index, which found contractors broadly optimistic about growing headcount over the next six months, adding that “it’s possible that reemerging worker shortages will put upward pressure on labor costs.”

What It Means for Subcontractors

• Electrical, mechanical, and power-related subs should expect stiffer competition for skilled labor as data-center and power construction demand drives hiring, per ABC’s July data.
• With openings up 21,000 year over year and hires up 33,000, firms staffing E&I, HVAC, or controls crews should build longer lead times into bids for hiring and onboarding over the next two quarters.
• Because quits rose by 5,000 even as layoffs eased, subcontractors retaining crews may see workers pulled toward better-paying data-center or power projects; revisit wage scales now rather than after losing crews mid-project.
• ABC’s Construction Confidence Index shows contractors planning to expand staffing over the next six months, so subs bidding power and data-center packages should lock in labor rate assumptions early, given Basu’s warning that shortages could push costs higher.