This Week in Trades, June 7, 2026

Copper Hit an All-Time High of $6.67 Per Pound

$6.67. Copper futures touched an all-time high of $6.67 per pound in June before pulling back, according to Trading Economics market data.

Supply is the story. Chile, the world's largest copper producer, reported its weakest April output in 23 years. At the same time, traders are watching potential U.S. tariff decisions on copper imports, and the possibility has already pushed extra shipments into U.S. ports ahead of any policy change. Demand from data centers, electric vehicles, and grid construction keeps pulling on a supply chain that cannot keep up.

For electricians, copper is the biggest material line on most jobs. Wire, conductors, terminations: all of it tracks the commodity price. Quotes that sat fine 60 days ago are underwater now. Tighten the validity window on material pricing, get supplier quotes in writing, and use escalation language on any job that stretches past summer.

Source: Trading Economics

Employers Added 172,000 Jobs in May While Construction Held Steady

172,000. U.S. employers added 172,000 jobs in May, and the unemployment rate held at 4.3 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported June 5. Construction employment showed little change over the month.

The gains went to leisure and hospitality, local government, and health care. Construction neither added nor shed meaningful headcount, a flat month in a year when the industry has mostly held its ground. March and April job counts were revised up by a combined 93,000, so the spring labor market was stronger than first reported.

Pay keeps rising. Average hourly earnings for all private workers hit $37.53 in May, up 3.4 percent over the past year. Production and nonsupervisory workers, the category that includes most field electricians, averaged $32.31 an hour.

For electricians, flat headcount with rising wages means employers are holding onto the workers they have. In that market, a current license is what separates you when the next round of hiring opens up.

Source: BLS Employment Situation

Job Openings Jumped to 7.6 Million in April

7.6 million. U.S. job openings rose by 731,000 in April to 7.6 million, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported June 2. The openings rate climbed to 4.6 percent, and openings are up 520,000 over the past year.

Hiring did not follow. Employers made 5.1 million hires in April, down 419,000 from March. Quits held at 3.0 million and layoffs stayed at 1.7 million. The picture: companies are posting jobs faster than they fill them, and workers are staying put.

For electricians, a gap between postings and hires usually means employers cannot find qualified people, not that they have stopped looking. The trades have run on that gap for years. Candidates who show up with a current license and solid code knowledge skip to the front of the line. If you are sitting on exam eligibility, this is the market to use it.

Source: BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey

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