Construction jobs
If you are skilled in construction, you have nice job security. As long as you don't total a new machine every few weeks, you'll always have a job. In fact, even if you do total a machine every few weeks, you'll probably still have a job. That's because the construction industry desperately needs to add nearly three quarters of a million skilled workers to meet increasing construction demands in 2022. Now that the pandemic is over (and really has been over for well over a year now) construction is picking up its pace, fast, requiring about 650,000 additional workers according to industry analysts. This is above and beyond what is usually needed year over year. Analysts say the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed last November and stimulus from COVID-19 relief will pump billions in new spending into critical infrastructure, including roads, bridges, and other structures. Based on historical Census Bureau Job-to-Job flow data, an estimated 1.2 million construction workers will leave their jobs to work in other industries in 2022. It is expected that this will be offset by an anticipated 1.3 million workers who will leave other industries to work in construction. “The workforce shortage is the most acute challenge facing the construction industry despite sluggish spending growth,” said Anirban Basu, Chief Economist of the Association of Builders and Contractors . “After accounting for inflation, construction spending has likely fallen over the past 12 months. As outlays from the infrastructure bill increase, construction spending will expand, exacerbating the chasm between supply and demand for labor." One concern with the construction demographic is age. The number of younger workers is decreasing while statistics show one in five workers are older than 55. Another problem, perhaps a bigger concern, is there appears to be a dwindling number of qualified skilled workers entering the construction sector. “The roughly 650,000 workers needed must quickly acquire specialized skills,” said Basu. “With many industries outside of construction also competing for increasingly scarce labor, the industry must take drastic steps to ensure future workforce demands are met.” In 2023, the industry will need to bring in nearly 590,000 new workers on top of normal hiring to meet industry demand, and that’s presuming that construction spending growth slows next year. “Now is the time to consider a career in construction,” said President and Chief Executive of ABS Michael Bellaman. “The vocation offers competitive wages and many opportunities to both begin and advance in an industry that builds the places where we work, play, worship, learn and heal."