The coronavirus has harmed the construction industry, prompting project delays and cancellations, layoffs and furloughs, yet it remains difficult for a majority of firms to find craft workers to hire, according to the Associated General Contractors of America and Autodesk.
“Few firms have survived unscathed from the pandemic amid widespread project delays and cancellations,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “Ironically, even as the pandemic undermines demand for construction services, it is reinforcing conditions that have historically made it hard for many firms to find qualified craft workers to hire.”
Sixty percent of responding firms report having at least one future project postponed or canceled because of the coronavirus, while 33 percent report having projects that were already underway halted because of the pandemic. The share of firms reporting canceled projects has nearly doubled since the survey AGC conducted in June, when 32 percent of respondents reported cancellations.
The coronavirus has also undermined the sector’s productivity levels as firms across the country change the way they operate to protect workers and the public from the disease. Forty-four percent of responding firms report that it has taken longer to complete projects and 32 percent say it has cost more to complete ongoing projects because of the coronavirus. As a result, 40 percent report they have adopted new hardware or software to alleviate labor shortages they have experienced.
The coronavirus has also negatively affected many firms’ confidence in future demand for projects. Only 42 percent of firms report their volume of business has returned to year-ago levels or is expected to do so in the next six months, compared to 52 percent who held this view in AGC’s June survey. Another 37 percent expect returning to normal levels of business will take more than six months, while the remainder don’t know.
Roughly a third of responding firms furloughed or terminated employees as a result of the pandemic and shutdowns ordered by government officials or project owners. Most of those firms have asked at least some laid-off workers to return to work.
The pandemic has also made it difficult for many firms to fill open positions, especially for hourly craft jobs. A majority (52 percent) of respondents report having a hard time filling some or all hourly craft positions, especially openings for laborers, carpenters and equipment operators.
Association officials unveiled new plans to encourage more people to pursue high-paying careers in construction to ease hiring challenges and find a way to attract recently unemployed people into the construction industry.
