Contractors dangle an array of benefits — from signing bonuses to housing allowances — to attract and retain workers
By Julie Bykowicz | 20 June 2022
WALL STREET JOURNAL — Construction projects across the U.S. are running short on labor just as $1 trillion in federal infrastructure money starts to kick in, leading companies to get creative in their quest to attract and retain workers. …
Historically low U.S. unemployment, the economic rebound from Covid-19 and about $600 billion in transportation-specific funding expected from the roughly $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure law have combined to exacerbate existing employee shortages in the construction industry.
Associated General Contractors of America, which represents more than 27,000 construction companies, said publicly funded transportation projects are routinely coming in at least 20% higher than government officials anticipated because of added labor costs, as well as inflationary factors such as higher prices for fuel and raw materials. …
Moody’s Analytics projects that the bipartisan infrastructure law’s peak impact will be in the fourth quarter of 2025, when there will be about 872,000 more jobs as a result of all the projects across the country. …
Industries from food service to software development have been pinched for workers as the pandemic ends and the economy revives. Infrastructure, which includes specialty trades such as welding and heavy machinery operation, has an extra set of challenges. […]
Gee, I guess the out-of-touch bozos in our Congress of Baboons didn’t think of that little detail, like, who’s gonna do the work?