In order to keep pace with demand, the nation’s construction industry needs to hire in excess of 430,000 new craft workers this year.
That’s the conclusion of a new analysis just released by the Washington-based Associated Builders and Contractors, contending that such workers are especially required at the same time that the construction industry is “powering America’s recovery and economic engine.”
Crunching numbers from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, the ABC analysis says the construction industry will likely see a growth rate of anywhere from 1.3% to 4.5% in the next two years.
That rate, equal to what the industry enjoyed in 2018 and 2019, means that the employment demand will required an additional 375,000 workers next year, and 479,000 in 2023.
Altogether, by the year 2023, “the demand for construction workers is projected to rise by 1.28 million,” says the analysis.
“Hiring of construction workers will be limited more by lack of qualified workers than by employers reducing demand,” the analysis predicts, while also noting that up and running construction training programs are expected to contribute to the pool of qualified workers.
The ABC analysis also notes that last year the “spread of the coronavirus and efforts to contain and limit its effect on the population had a big impact on construction activity and construction employment.”
At the same time, “seemingly paradoxically,” says the analysis, construction spending in 2020 was actually up by 4.8%.
The analysis says that paradox can be partly explained by the increased cost of building materials and labor last year.
Construction spending was also up due to the increasing number of residential projects: “The mix of residential construction was tilted towards higher-end homes, which cost more (higher-grade materials as well as being larger), but don’t require that much more additional labor.”
By Garry Boulard
