Construction Industry Labor Shortage

The construction industry in 2017 is being faced with an ever-growing skilled worker shortage which is driving up construction costs and adding time to construction schedules across the country. The current slowdown in immigration after the Trump election is contributing to the already existing labor shortage.

The five toughest craft positions to fill are carpenters, electricians, roofers, drywallers, and concrete workers. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics and National Association of Home Builders, there are currently 143,000 vacant construction positions nationwide and a recent survey by the NAHB revealed 69% of its members were experiencing delays with completing the project on time due to the shortage of adequate qualified workers.

The Douglas Company tries to help prevent project delays due to manpower by communicating early with every subcontractor the schedule requirements for every project before the contract is even awarded and getting their buy-in prior to schedule commitments. The manpower on every project is measured daily against a manpower goal that every subcontractor is required to meet on each project to proactively deal with manpower issues on a daily basis to help control schedule slippage.

Brian McCarthy
Executive Vice President, Midwest Construction Operations
The Douglas Company

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