Is Your Building Project Taking Longer Than Expected?

Builders: Labor shortages are ‘significant and widespread’

WASHINGTON – Sept. 6, 2018 – According to an industry-wide survey released by Autodesk and the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), 80 percent of construction firms are having a hard time filling hourly craft positions that represent the bulk of the construction workforce.

"Labor shortages in the construction industry remain significant and widespread," says Ken Simonson, AGC's chief economist. "The best way to encourage continued economic growth, make it easier to rebuild aging infrastructure and place more young adults into high-paying careers is to address construction workforce shortages."

Of more than 2,500 survey respondents, 80 percent said they are having difficulty filling hourly craft positions, Simonson noted. Craft worker shortages are severe in all four regions of the country, with 81 percent of contractors in the West and South reporting a hard time filling hourly craft positions, 80 percent rate in the Midwest and 77 percent in the Northeast.

Simonson says construction employment expanded between July 2017 and July 2018 in 281 out of 358 metro areas that the association tracks – more than three out of four – according to an analysis of federal construction employment data. But growing demand for construction workers helps explain why so many firms think it will be hard, or get harder, to find hourly craft workers this year.

"It's evident that we need to reskill the future workforce," says Sarah Hodges, senior director, construction business line at Autodesk. "Technology can help bridge this gap, and more firms are bringing training in-house to implement digital strategies such as building information modeling, or BIM, to ease staffing challenges and train the next generation of industry professionals."

Tight labor market conditions are prompting firms to change the way they operate, recruit and compensate workers, Simonson adds. Sixty-two percent of construction firms report increasing base pay rates for craft workers because of difficulty filling positions; 24 percent have improved employee benefits and 25 percent are providing incentives and bonuses.

In addition, 25 percent are increasing use of labor-saving equipment, and an equal percent report using virtual construction methods. However, 47 percent of firms say they've put higher prices on their bids and 44 percent report that already-underway projects cost more because of labor shortages.

Forty-six percent report it takes longer than originally scheduled to complete projects and 27 percent are putting longer completion times into their bids because of workforce shortages.

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Reprinted with permisssion