The industry has been dealing with labor issues since recovery began from the Great Recession. After the housing bubble popped after 2007, construction workers nationwide left the business. In Colorado, the state shed 59,000 construction jobs between 2007 and 2011, according to the state Department of Labor and Employment. Many workers retired early. Some never returned.
But there was also a lost generation of potential workers who never even considered a career in construction, said Bernard M. Markstein, chief economist with Markstein Advisors who follows construction trends.
“We’ve got a society that (thinks), ‘Mama, don’t let your children go into construction,’” Markstein said. “Construction is seen as a dirty, dangerous occupation with low pay and that’s not at all true. Construction pays higher than average. (Younger workers are) going to college and going into what we generally call white collar jobs.”
In March, Associated Builders and Contractors, a trade association representing the non-union construction industry, looked at data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and said it needed another 430,000 craft professionals this year. For every $1 billion in new construction spending, the industry estimates it needs 5,700 new workers. And according to Markstein Advisors, construction spending is likely to reach $1.45 trillion in 2021, up 1.3% from 2020.
