At the same time, construction hiring slowed sharply. The industry's hiring rate dropped to 3.5%, matching February's record low, while layoffs edged higher and fewer workers voluntarily left their jobs. Together, those trends suggest contractors remain cautious about adding to their payrolls despite an increase in advertised openings.

Other construction indicators point to the same uneven labor picture. Earlier in June, ABC reported that construction added 17,000 jobs in May, including 15,700 in nonresidential construction, with nonresidential specialty trades accounting for most of those gains. ABC’s backlog data also showed stronger demand, with backlog rising to 9.1 months in May, but Basu said much of that increase was tied to data center work. Contractors involved in data centers reported significantly longer backlogs than firms not involved in those projects.

For roofing businesses, that means competition for experienced field workers is likely to remain steady, even as residential and commercial markets continue to vary by region. Contractors may need to focus on employee retention and targeted recruiting while monitoring project pipelines and labor availability.

Despite softer hiring activity, ABC notes that contractors remain optimistic about expanding their workforce, with its latest Construction Confidence Index indicating continued expectations for staffing growth.

What ABC Said This Time Last Year

When ABC released the May JOLTS data one year ago, the association reported a much weaker hiring environment. The industry had 245,000 job openings, just 3,000 more than the previous month but 130,000 fewer than a year earlier. Basu said at the time that “industrywide labor demand remained subdued” and that the year-to-date hiring rate was the “lowest for any year since the JOLTS data series began in 2000.”1 While contractors were holding on to existing workers, new hiring remained historically slow.