91视频

By Nate Beck
91视频 Newswires

A year and a half into the pandemic, contractors are contending once again with a shortage of skilled labor that’s compounding supply chain delays and project disruptions.

Before the pandemic, contractors broadly faced a lack of labor, although firms enjoyed a backlog of projects. Results of a survey from the Associated General Contractors of America released Thursday, however, show contractors are facing a labor shortage along with supply-chain disruptions, materials cost increases and other problems brought on by the pandemic.

鈥淢arket conditions are nowhere near as robust as they were prior to the onset of the pandemic,鈥� said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. 鈥淎t the same time, the pandemic and political responses to it are limiting the size of the workforce, leading to labor shortages that are as severe as they were in 2019 when demand for construction was more robust.鈥�

AGC surveyed 2,100 contractors nationally — including 76 in Oregon — to gauge the ongoing effects of COVID on the construction industry. Contractors in recent months have been hampered by delays in the delivery of materials and rapid increases in the cost of building materials.

In AGC’s latest survey, however, many firms reported an acute shortage of labor as well. The shortage of labor is one factor that’s causing nearly nine out of 10 contractors surveyed to say they’ve seen project delays in recent months, Simonson said.

About three-quarters of contractors surveyed nationally said they have increased pay to attract more workers, while about one-third of respondents said they had added hiring bonuses to attract more workers.

Nationally, 75 percent of contractors surveyed said a shortage of materials was leading to project delays. Meanwhile, 61 percent of firms said a shortage of labor had led to project delays.

Stephen Sandherr, AGC’s CEO, said the trade group is calling on Congress to pass an infrastructure package that would bring the construction industry more work. AGC is also advocating for more support for training skilled construction workers.

鈥淭he federal government currently spends only one dollar on career training for every six it puts into college prep, despite the fact only one-in-three jobs requires a college degree,鈥� Sandherr said. 鈥淏oosting federal investments in career and technical education will help attract and prepare more people into high-paying careers in construction.鈥�