Construction Employment Rise& Problem of Labor Shortage

The construction industry is growing and is adapting fast to new technologies. Spending on construction projects have gone high and reached $1 trillion in November 2017.As per a new analysis of federal employment data released by the Associated General Contractors of America, construction employment increased in 269 out of 358 metro areas in between the time December 2016 and December 2017. In 43 areas, it declined and in 46areas it stagnated.It is expected by the officials that the new infrastructure funding can ensure that firms will continue to expand their headcount in 2018.Construction employment rose by 36,000 in January. It has been reflected that over the past 12 months, the industry has added 226,000 jobs.

But the persistent labor shortage continues to loom large as an issue in the industry. The lack of skilled labors along with tight schedules is often hindering the current boom the industry is facing lately. The businesses have to increase hiring process and pay more. 60% of companies are ready to pay high salaries too. But what else can be done to combat the labor shortage problem looming large in the industry?

Experts predict that technology and shifting work to fabrication yard can help. Also, bringing in millenials on-board can be a good option as these tech-savvy peeps can actually fill in the vacuum created by the shortage of labor. In the pre-fabrication process, many parts are built in a particular site and are then shipped to the final destination. Travelling requirement for workers can be eliminated. Technological advancements including robotics, drones, and construction management software can be helpful to combat the problem. 

Robots can do some part of the work like brick-laying. A robot called SAM has been in news lately as it can nearly eliminate manual labor. It can reduce man-hours by 4 times. The robot can lay 1,200 bricks in a day whereas a human can only lay 300 bricks a day. 

In remote areas inspections can be easily done and data can be sent to intelligent systems in real time with robots in which labors are unable to reach. There can also be other uses of drones from which the industry can be largely benefitted. 

Construction project management software solutions help to track project updates, save time, rework and budget. Manual tasks like searching paper documents can be cumbersome and tedious. Digital documents uploaded in a software like SKYSITE is easy to search and use.

 So, try out any of the ways to combat labor shortage for your construction firm.

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