And, according to the results of the AGC’s 1,281-response national survey, it’s not for a lack of trying. Seventy-three percent of all U.S. contractors surveyed said they planned to expand their payrolls in 2017, a total up from 66 percent of respondents in an AGC survey last summer. To attract new hires, more than half of respondents to the latest survey (52%) say that they have increased their base pay rate, while 35 percent say they are providing incentives and bonuses and 28 percent have increased contributions or have improved the benefits they offer.
According to an AGC report on the survey, much of the industry’s optimism appears to be based on “the assumption that the economy will continue to grow next year and that the incoming Trump administration will enact significant new investments in a range of public works projects, especially for highways and public buildings.” (You can find the survey’s findings for dollar volume expectations per market below.)
However, 73 percent of respondents to the latest survey say they are having a hard time filling both salaried positions (project managers, supervisors, estimators) and hourly craft positions (carpenter, laborer, equipment operator, etc.).
“While the new administration and its stated policy objectives offer many reasons for optimism, there is a significant risk to the industry if the new Congress and administration under-deliver,” says AGC CEO Stephen Sandherr. “If plans to invest in infrastructure, reform healthcare laws and roll back regulations are delayed, many contractors will likely scale back their plans to expand headcounts.”
According to preliminary data from the Labor Department, the construction industry currently employs 6.699 million Americans. Despite a decline of 3,000 jobs in December, construction employment remains at its highest point since December 2008.
The AGC’s previous workforce survey from 2016 found that the percentage of contractors having trouble finding qualified employees had dropped to 66 percent, providing a glimmer of hope that the skilled labor shortage may be easing up a bit. However the latest finding represents a return to the percentage of surveyed contractors having the same trouble in 2015.
