What's Hot

    Eloy P&Z Hears Dual Requests for Major Land Use Overhaul

    August 1, 2025

    State’s Largest Data Center Project Part of Vermaland Pinal Plan

    August 1, 2025

    Pinal Considering 215-Acre Data Center Development

    August 1, 2025
    Facebook Twitter Instagram
    AZBEX
    NEWS TICKER
    • [August 1, 2025] - Eloy P&Z Hears Dual Requests for Major Land Use Overhaul
    • [August 1, 2025] - State’s Largest Data Center Project Part of Vermaland Pinal Plan
    • [August 1, 2025] - Pinal Considering 215-Acre Data Center Development
    • [August 1, 2025] - Hundred-Unit Skyline Towns Townhome Development Moves Forward in Apache Junction
    • [August 1, 2025] - Arizona Projects 08-01-25
    • [July 29, 2025] - Scottsdale Hospitals War May Heat Up with New Banner Request
    • [July 29, 2025] - Dominium Planning 304-Unit BTR in Surprise
    • [July 29, 2025] - Next Steps Coming for Bartlett Dam Expansion
    Facebook Twitter YouTube LinkedIn
    • Home
    • News
      1. View Latest
      2. Planning & Development
      3. Local News
      4. Classifieds
      5. Editorial Analysis
      6. Budgets & Funding
      7. Commercial Real Estate
      8. People on the Move
      9. Arizona Projects
      10. Legislation & Regulations
      11. Trends

      Eloy P&Z Hears Dual Requests for Major Land Use Overhaul

      August 1, 2025

      State’s Largest Data Center Project Part of Vermaland Pinal Plan

      August 1, 2025

      Pinal Considering 215-Acre Data Center Development

      August 1, 2025

      Hundred-Unit Skyline Towns Townhome Development Moves Forward in Apache Junction

      August 1, 2025

      Mohave County May Remove Data Centers as Economic Development Goal

      July 23, 2025

      Ariz. Construction Gained 600 Jobs in June

      July 22, 2025

      Scottsdale Report Shows Multifamily Pipeline Half of Common Estimate

      July 22, 2025

      Alleging Breaches, ZenniHome Closes NGS Operations

      July 21, 2025

      Scottsdale Hospitals War May Heat Up with New Banner Request

      July 29, 2025

      Glendale Voters to Determine VAI Resort’s Fate

      May 16, 2025

      Legislation Would Effectively Strip NIMBYs of Referendum Tool

      February 11, 2025

      2025 Forecast Tries to Clarify an Uncertain Market

      February 7, 2025

      Ariz. LIHTC to Sunset Under New Budget

      July 8, 2025

      State Government Shutdown Averted as Hobbs Signs Budget

      July 1, 2025

      Arterial Life Cycle Program Covers 20 Years of Street Development

      June 27, 2025

      $56M+ MAG Program will Enable $90M in Arterial Street Widening Projects

      June 24, 2025

      Commercial Real Estate 07-29-25

      July 29, 2025

      Commercial Real Estate 07-22-25

      July 22, 2025

      Commercial Real Estate 07-15-25

      July 15, 2025

      Commercial Real Estate 07-08-25

      July 8, 2025

      Industry Professionals 07-29-25

      July 29, 2025

      Industry Professionals 07-22-25

      July 22, 2025

      Industry Professionals 07-15-25

      July 15, 2025

      Industry Professionals 07-08-25

      July 8, 2025

      Arizona Projects 08-01-25

      August 1, 2025

      Arizona Projects 07-25-25

      July 25, 2025

      Arizona Projects 07-18-25

      July 18, 2025

      Arizona Projects 07-11-25

      July 11, 2025

      Mohave County May Remove Data Centers as Economic Development Goal

      July 23, 2025

      Alleging Breaches, ZenniHome Closes NGS Operations

      July 21, 2025

      Ariz. LIHTC to Sunset Under New Budget

      July 8, 2025

      Tax Bill Would Make LIHTC Permanent

      July 2, 2025

      Ariz. Construction Gained 600 Jobs in June

      July 22, 2025

      BEX Updates Construction Sector Projections in Annual Mid-Year Update

      July 18, 2025

      Phoenix Industrial Sees First Vacancy Drop in Years; YoY Completions Drop 75%

      July 18, 2025

      Phoenix Construction Costs See 4.42% Q2 Annual Change

      July 15, 2025

      Eloy P&Z Hears Dual Requests for Major Land Use Overhaul

      August 1, 2025

      State’s Largest Data Center Project Part of Vermaland Pinal Plan

      August 1, 2025

      Pinal Considering 215-Acre Data Center Development

      August 1, 2025

      Hundred-Unit Skyline Towns Townhome Development Moves Forward in Apache Junction

      August 1, 2025
    • AZBEX
      • Subscribe
      • Classifieds
      • Advertising
    • DATABEX
      • Webinars
      • Monthly Snapshot
    • Events
      • 2025 Mid-Year Update
      • 2025 Industrial LMS
    • About Us
      • Meet the Company
      • Meet the Sales Team
      • Meet the Editorial Team
      • Meet the BEXperts
    • CIP Special Report
    AZBEX
    Home » Trends » Construction 2024 Workforce Shortage Tops 500,000
    Trends

    Construction 2024 Workforce Shortage Tops 500,000

    BEX StaffBy BEX StaffFebruary 2, 2024No Comments4 Mins Read
    Credit: Associated Builders and Contractors
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

    By Associated Builders and Contractors

    The construction industry will need to attract an estimated 501,000 additional workers on top of the normal pace of hiring in 2024 to meet the demand for labor, according to a proprietary model developed by Associated Builders and Contractors.

    In 2025, the industry will need to bring in nearly 454,000 new workers on top of normal hiring to meet industry demand, and that’s presuming that construction spending growth slows significantly next year.

    “ABC estimates that the U.S. construction industry needs to attract about a half million new workers in 2024 to balance supply and demand,” said Michael Bellaman, ABC president and CEO. “Not addressing the shortage through an all-of-the-above approach to workforce development will slow improvements to our shared built environment, worker productivity, living standards and the places where we heal, learn, play, work and gather.”

    ABC’s model uses the historical relationship between inflation-adjusted construction spending growth, sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Value of Construction Put in Place Survey, and payroll construction employment, sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, to convert anticipated increases in construction outlays into demand for construction labor at a rate of approximately 3,550 jobs /$1B of additional spending. This increased demand is added to the current level of above-average job openings. Projected industry retirements, shifts to other industries and other forms of anticipated separation are also embodied within the computations.

    Based on historical Census Bureau Job-to-Job Flows data, an estimated 1.9 million construction workers will leave their jobs to work in other industries in 2024. This should be offset by an anticipated 2.1 million workers who will leave other industries to work in construction. These frictional interindustry transfers are estimated exogenously and serve as inputs to the model.

    The U.S. construction industry unemployment rate averaged 4.6% for the second straight year, matching the second lowest level on record, while job openings remained historically elevated at an average of 377,000 per month through the first 11 months of 2023. As a result of labor shortages, contractors laid off workers at a slower rate than in any year between the start of the data series in 2000 and 2020.

    “Broadly, there are two factors shaping the interaction between construction worker supply and demand,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “There are structural factors, including outsized retirement levels, megaprojects in several private and public construction segments and cultural factors that encourage too few young people to enter the skilled construction trades. There are also structural factors, including those related to interest rates, consumer sentiment and general economic performance.

    “Over the past two years, cyclical influences have helped diminish the gap between construction worker supply and demand,” said Basu. “Though nonresidential construction spending has continued to surge, homebuilding segments have felt the impact of higher borrowing costs more intensely. With interest rates set to decline in 2024 and 2025, the expectation is that construction worker shortfalls will remain elevated. Among other things, that would delay the rebuilding of American infrastructure and the creation of new domestic supply chains. It would also tend to drive up the cost of construction service delivery, impacting American enterprises and taxpayers alike.

    “Meanwhile, structural influences persist,” said Basu. “More than 1 in 5 construction workers are 55 or older, meaning that retirement will continue to contract the industry’s workforce. These are the most experienced workers, and their departures are especially concerning.”

    “While construction employment is growing, it is not growing fast enough to meet the demand to complete the work on the books for 2024,” said Bellaman. “To address this shortage and grow the construction talent pool, ABC has a network of more than 800 apprenticeships, craft, health and safety and management education programs—including more than 450 government-registered apprenticeship programs across 20 different occupations. ABC chapters also have 323 entry point programs in place nationally to welcome all to begin a career in construction. To address workforce demand that drives the U.S. economy, Congress must also look toward much-needed reforms to our legal immigration system and provide high-demand industries, like construction, with access to new or expanded visa programs.”

    “Exclusionary policies and programs that do not welcome all to compete to build our public works projects, such as project labor agreement mandates, will further exacerbate this shortage and undermine significant investments made by taxpayers in infrastructure, clean energy and manufacturing projects,” said Bellaman. “Taxpayers and workers are best served by inclusive, win-win policies that create a level playing field for all contractors to compete to build public works projects.” (Source)

    ABC Anirban Basu Associated Builders and Contractors congress Construction costs Construction employment construction spending construction unemployment rate construction worker age construction workforce shortage domestic supply chain interest rates interindustry transfers job openings Job-to-Job Flows labor demand labor shortage legal immigration reform trends U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics U.S. Census Bureau Value of Construction Put in Place Survey
    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Tumblr Email

    Related Posts

    Ariz. Construction Gained 600 Jobs in June

    July 22, 2025

    BEX Updates Construction Sector Projections in Annual Mid-Year Update

    July 18, 2025

    Phoenix Industrial Sees First Vacancy Drop in Years; YoY Completions Drop 75%

    July 18, 2025

    Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

    You must be logged in to post a comment.

    Our Picks

    Eloy P&Z Hears Dual Requests for Major Land Use Overhaul

    August 1, 2025

    State’s Largest Data Center Project Part of Vermaland Pinal Plan

    August 1, 2025

    Pinal Considering 215-Acre Data Center Development

    August 1, 2025

    Hundred-Unit Skyline Towns Townhome Development Moves Forward in Apache Junction

    August 1, 2025
    Stay In Touch
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • LinkedIn
    • YouTube
    Don't Miss
    Planning & Development

    Eloy P&Z Hears Dual Requests for Major Land Use Overhaul

    August 1, 20250

    By Roland Murphy for AZBEX In its July 16 meeting, the Eloy Planning and Zoning…

    State’s Largest Data Center Project Part of Vermaland Pinal Plan

    August 1, 2025

    Pinal Considering 215-Acre Data Center Development

    August 1, 2025

    Hundred-Unit Skyline Towns Townhome Development Moves Forward in Apache Junction

    August 1, 2025

    BEX serves architecture, engineering and construction firms as well as all the ancillary product and service categories that market to them. These include manufacturing representatives, public agencies and private real estate organizations, specialty subcontractors and services providers related to our industry.

    Our Picks

    Eloy P&Z Hears Dual Requests for Major Land Use Overhaul

    August 1, 2025

    State’s Largest Data Center Project Part of Vermaland Pinal Plan

    August 1, 2025

    Pinal Considering 215-Acre Data Center Development

    August 1, 2025
    Contact Us

    Phone: 480-709-4190
    Address: P.O. Box 12196 Tempe, AZ 85284
    Email: sales@azbex.com

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.