Eighty percent of construction firms report they are having a hard time filling hourly craft positions that represent the bulk of the construction workforce, according to the results of an industry-wide survey released today by Autodesk and the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC).
The data includes numbers from California, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Texas.
In California, employers said it is most difficult to fill the following positions: bricklayers, installers-drywall, pipelayers, carpenters, sheet metal workers and plumbers.
As a result, contractors in California say they have added higher prices onto their bids or contracts or put longer completion times on projects.
See the California-specific results here.
The association said this could pose a significant risk to future economic growth in the country and in each state surveyed.
“Labor shortages in the construction industry remain significant and widespread,” said 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.”
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In the west, 48 percent of construction firms surveyed said it will become harder to hire workers in the future.
