b'Construction job openingsIndeed, ABC data indicates about half of itsmembers intend to increase hiring in the next six fall post-Helenemonths, indicating the drop in openings doesnt signify a true softening in demand. The storm played a role in Septembers numbers, but the decline started before that, said Macrina Wilkins, senior research analyst for the Associated General Contractors of America. Job openings began to trend down year-over-year in August, which saw a 4% decrease from the same month a year prior.In hurricane-affected states like Florida, SouthCarolina, North Carolina and Virginia, there was only a slight decrease in the number of construction jobs added in September compared to the previous month, Wilkins said. This suggests that while local disruptions from Hurricane Helene likely impacted openings, they may not be the sole factor driving the Economists say the hurricane temporarily suppresseddecline. the number of open construction positions across the Southeast at the end of September.Wilkins also noted the job openings figure reflects Dive Brief:postings on the last available day of the month, though other figures, like hirings, covers those made Open construction jobs dropped to 288,000 onthroughout the month.the last day of September, a decrease of 40,000 or about 12% from the previous month, accord- Thisdifferencecouldexplainwhy,evenasjob ing to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data openings decreased, hires increased by 9% from last released Tuesday.year,saidWilkins.Inotherwords,whilehiring The report measures the number of open remained strong, firms may have paused new post-positions for which contractors are actively ings following the hurricanes impact. hiring. In September, 3.4% of construction jobs went unfilled, below the overall rate of 4.5%. Job openings were down by 134,000, or about 32%,Zachary PhillipsEditor from September 2023.Anirban Basu, chief economist for Associated Build-ers and Contractors, attributed some of the drop to HurricaneHelene,whichtemporarilycurtailedthe numberofopenconstructionpositionsacrossthe Southeastern U.S.Dive Insight: Helene, which made landfall at the end of the month,most likely impacted job openings by its timing, Basu said. Hurricane Helene, which did not dissipate until Sept. 29, temporarily suppressed the number of open construction positions across the Southeast, Basu wrote in a release. Because the BLS measures job openings on the final day of the relevant month, the data in this JOLTS release are almost certainlydistorted. 27'