Construction firms see growth, labor shortage

Listen to this article

More than 80 percent of construction firms nationwide plan to expand their payrolls in 2015, but firms also expect finding workers to fill professional and craft worker positions to continue to be a challenge, according to the Associated General Contractors of America.

In Virginia, 95 percent of firms plan to expand their payrolls in 2015, the highest rate among the 50 states. Idaho data was not included in the report because the sample size was too low. There were only about 10 respondents to the AGC survey, said Nahee Rosso, director of communications for the group in the Washington, D.C. 
area.

Nationally, 44 percent of firms reported they were struggling to find skilled craft workers and qualified construction professionals.

“Despite the overall optimism, some challenges remain for the industry,” AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson said in a statement. “In particular, as construction firms continue to expand, they will continue to have a difficult time finding enough skilled construction workers.”

Forty-one percent of firms nationally reported they believe it will become harder to find and hire skilled craft workers over the next 12 months. Forty percent expect it will become harder to find and hire qualified construction professionals during that period.