The construction industry, whose workforce was decimated during the last recession, is slowly getting back on its feet. However, in certain markets—especially those where oil drilling and production have been prospering—construction workers can still be scarce.
Based on a survey of nearly 1,100 member firms in October, the Associated General Contractors of America (www.agc.org) reported that 83% of respondents were having difficulty finding craft workers, and 61% said other professional positions were hard to fill.
That being said, it appears employment pressures are easing. AGC’S analysis of data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics finds that construction employers added 12,000 jobs in October, dropping the industry’s unemployment rate to 6.4%, its lowest level since October 2006.
In fact, construction employment in October, at 6,095,000, was the highest it’s been since May 2009, with 231,000 jobs added over the last 12 months, a 3.9% gain.
Residential construction is driving the market’s employment, as 130,600 residential and specialty trade contractor jobs have been added over the past year, representing a 6% increase over the same period in the previous year. Jobs for nonresidential and specialty trades, and heavy and civil engineering, rose by 2.7%, or 99,800, over the past 12 months.
Ken Simonson, AGC’s chief economist, notes that all construction employees worked an average of 39.2 hours per week in October, tying the highest mark since the association has been tracking this data since March 2006. And wages have been rising at their fastest rate—2.6% in the past year—since early 2010.
Still, AGC sees uncertainty in the future construction employment picture, and is calling on government officials to enact measures that would make it easier for school districts, local associations and private companies to establish career and technical education programs.
The Association’s concerns about where the industry is going to find its next generation of labor stem, in part, from its research which shows that its members in the South are most likely to struggle with labor shortages, particularly places like Louisiana where pipeline, refinery, and petrochemical construction jobs have boomed.
That boom has been a double-edged sword, in that the oil industry is grappling to find qualified labor. A recent article posted on the website Industrial Info Resources quotes John Floren, CEO of Methanex, the world’s largest producer of methanol, who said that projected costs for two projects in Geismar, La., rose by $300 million, largely because of labor costs and productivity issues.
And if, as expected, oil-related projects ramp up, labor shortages in Gulf States could become more acute in 2016 and 2017, according to industry observers quoted by Industrial Info Resources.
Related Stories
| Oct 6, 2014
Retelling an old story: Why women are underrepresented in architecture
Women account for more than half of the U.S. population. But even with significant gains over the past 25 years, their numbers and positions among the ranks of practicing architects appear to have stalled.
| Oct 3, 2014
New survey tracks Americans’ attitudes towards transit use
A record 10.7 billion rides were taken on public transit in the United States last year. And a national survey of Americans finds that the speed, reliability, and cost, more than any other factors, determine people’s willingness and frequency of use.
| Oct 2, 2014
Effective use of building enclosure mock-ups within the commissioning process
Engineers from SSR offer advice and guidelines on implementing building enclosure mockups on any project.
| Oct 2, 2014
Budget busters: Report details 24 of the world's most obscenely over-budget construction projects
Montreal's Olympic Stadium and the Sydney Opera House are among the landmark projects to bust their budgets, according to a new interactive graph by Podio.
| Oct 1, 2014
Long-time competitors NAC|Architecture and Osborn merge
The combined firm has offices in California, Colorado, and Washington, and offers a wide range of services, from landscape architecture and graphic design to architecture and interior design.
| Oct 1, 2014
Philip Johnson's iconic Crystal Cathedral to be modernized, made 'intrinsically Catholic'
Johnson Fain and Rios Clementi Hale Studios have been commissioned by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange to upgrade the all-glass church in Garden Grove, Calif. The church acquired the property in 2012.
| Oct 1, 2014
4 trends shaping the future of data centers
As a designer of mission critical facilities, I’ve learned that it’s really difficult to build data centers to keep pace with technology, yet that’s a reality we face along with our clients, writes Gensler's Jackson Metcalf.
| Oct 1, 2014
EYP, WHR Architects merge, strengthening presence in education, healthcare, energy sectors
The merger unites 530 professionals to better address some of the most critical issues facing our nation, namely education, healthcare, and energy.
| Sep 30, 2014
The Big Room concept: Using Building Team collocation to ensure project success
Implementing collocation via the Big Room concept will remove silos, ensure a cadence for daily communication, promote collaboration, and elevate your chances for success, write CBRE Healthcare's Stephen Powell and Magnus Nilsson.
| Sep 30, 2014
USGBC, Bank of America name recipients of 2014 Affordable Green Neighborhoods Grant Program
Eleven projects have been selected for the 2014 Affordable Green Neighborhoods grant program. Each will receive $31,000 and an educational package to support their pursuit of LEED for Neighborhood Development certification.
