Contractors are on a quest for more workers, but they’re still struggling to find them. A new Associated General Contractors of America survey has shared numbers providing context around the issue.
The majority of U.S. contractors have increased their headcount in the last 12 months, according to the survey of AGC members, and more respondents this year are looking for both hourly craftworkers and salaried contractors. More than nine in 10 report they have trouble finding the people they need.
“What this year’s survey makes clear is that our nation’s failure to invest in construction workforce education and training programs is having a real, measurable impact on the country’s ability to build infrastructure and other construction projects,” said Jeff Shoaf, CEO of AGC, in a statement. “These impacts include higher costs, longer construction schedules and a significant number of delayed and/or canceled projects.”
Indeed, the report indicates that the lack of workers has created a problem for delivering projects.
“A majority — 54 percent — of respondents reports experiencing project delays due to shortages of their own or subcontractors’ workers,” said Ken Simonson, chief economist of AGC, in the statement. “And 80 percent of firms report experiencing at least one project that has been canceled, scaled back, or postponed.
The causes for struggling to find suitable workers are many, but primarily respondents reported that candidates were not qualified for construction work (62%) or that they failed to show up or quit shortly after starting (50%).
Contractors struggle to find qualified workers who will show up
AGC members’ responses about why they are having trouble filling positions.
The three toughest-to-staff salaried positions, according to the survey, were superintendents (83% of respondents), project managers/supervisors (81%) and estimating personnel (78%).
The three toughest-to-staff hourly or craft labor positions, according to the survey, were mechanics (83%), cement masons (83%) and plumbers (80%).
Causes and solutions
AGC laid the blame at government programs that support higher education to the detriment of workforce training.
“One reason it is so difficult for firms to find people is because federal officials have failed to properly invest in construction workforce training and education,” said Shoaf.
A study released in June from the Progressive Policy Institute in partnership with AGC and Procore found that, of the $139.5 billion that the federal government spends annually on postsecondary education, $28.3 billion goes to workforce education and training programs. The remaining $111.3 billion supports traditional degree programs.
AGC connects that to the continued labor shortage, and builders are trying to do something about it.
“The construction industry is, however, taking a range of steps to address these shortages,” said Simonson.
A majority — 61% of respondents — said they had increased base pay rates by more than a year ago. Nearly three in five have implemented an online strategy (such as social media presence or targeted ads) to recruit younger workers, and half have partnered with a career-building program.
Shoaf called on the federal government to increase funding for career development, and to implement practices to make it easier for construction workers to immigrate and work in the U.S.
“The bottom line is the federal government needs workforce policies that support, instead of undermining, our national infrastructure and economic development priorities,” Shoaf said.