WASHINGTON, March 8—The construction industry reported 248,000 job openings in January, 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 fell sharply last month, down 240,000 on a monthly basis and 148,000 from the same time last year.