In a recent report by Associated General Contractors of America, they found that not only are construction companies looking to hire – A LOT – in 2019, but they are also concerned about their ability to find qualified workers. Seventy-nine percent stated they are looking to expand their payroll this year, and an astounding seventy-eight percent said they are concerned about finding skilled workers needed to fill the job.
Despite firms’ plans to expand headcount, 78% report they are having a hard time filling salaried and hourly craft positions. That share was down slightly from 83% at the start of 2018. In addition, 42% expect it will continue to be hard to hire in the next 12 months and 26%expect that it will become harder to hire in 2019.
As growing demand and labor shortages force contractors to do more with less, many firms are increasing their investments in labor-saving technologies and techniques like building information modeling, lean construction, and robotics.