Industry Employment Data shows an Increase in Unfilled
Construction Jobs
2014 will find more projects, an industry moving past
recovery and into growth mode. There are currently billions
of dollars of commercial construction work forecasted to take place in Boston,
New York, Washington DC and Pittsburgh and even more in heavy and highway
infrastructure related work taking place in the New York metropolitan area;
some industry experts have forecasted backlogs in these areas extending beyond
the next 5 years. Another 30 billion was
recently announced for additional projects in the NY/NJ metropolitan
marketplace.
AGC’s Ken Simonson recently
reported that “many contractors will find more projects to bid on in 2014 than
they have in the past five years. Judging by recent producer price indexes,
they should be spared most materials price shocks. However, labor availability
will become an increasing concern.”
Simonson also stated that
“the year opened with an upbeat report on construction spending from the Census
Bureau on January 2. The agency reported that spending in November was the
highest since March 2009 at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (a statistical
technique to remove distortions due to normal weather or monthly variations).
For the first 11 months of 2013 combined, year-to-date spending rose 5.0
percent from the same months in 2012.”
With Philadelphia’s current
back log of work including several significant projects within the University
City area, Cira II and Comcast II, it appears that we have begun to follow suit
with the surrounding major metropolitan markets. As reported on
gregorymcs.blogspot.com and in the Gregory Management & Consulting Services
REGIONAL CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY UPDATE over the last twelve months, Philadelphia
construction employers should be very concerned about anticipated labor
shortages, especially as the region’s employers engage in collective bargaining
throughout 2015.
A recent press
release from the Bureau of labor Statistics further validates these claims as the
industry continues to experience a growing number of open and unfilled construction
sector positions.
As reported in the February 11, 2014, BLS Job Openings and
Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), the number of open, unfilled construction sector
jobs increased 51% from 95,000 in December of 2012 to 143,000 in December of
2013.
This increase in unfilled positions is supportive of growth
in the industry, however the data sets associated with industry “Hires levels” and “Separations” continue to reflect
only nominal or modest growth in total employment. It is our opinion that this
most recent rise in the count of open positions falls in line with national and
regional reports of labor shortages.
Table 1. Job openings levels and
rates by industry and region, seasonally adjusted(1)
Industry
and region
|
Levels
(in thousands)(2)
|
|||||
Dec.
2012 |
Aug.
2013 |
Sept.
2013 |
Oct.
2013 |
Nov.
2013 |
Dec.
2013(p) |
|
Total
|
3,612
|
3,844
|
3,883
|
3,931
|
4,033
|
3,990
|
Construction
|
95
|
109
|
112
|
127
|
142
|
143
|
See BLS Source Data here…
Table 2. Hires levels and rates by
industry and region, seasonally adjusted(1)
Industry
and region
|
Levels
(in thousands)(2)
|
|||||
Dec.
2012 |
Aug.
2013 |
Sept.
2013 |
Oct.
2013 |
Nov.
2013 |
Dec.
2013(p) |
|
Total
|
4,195
|
4,559
|
4,632
|
4,484
|
4,529
|
4,437
|
Construction
|
280
|
298
|
299
|
329
|
293
|
269
|
See BLS Source Data here…
Table 3. Total separations levels and
rates by industry and region, seasonally adjusted(1)
Industry
and region
|
Levels
(in thousands)(2)
|
|||||
Dec.
2012 |
Aug.
2013 |
Sept.
2013 |
Oct.
2013 |
Nov.
2013 |
Dec.
2013(p) |
|
Total
|
4,062
|
4,405
|
4,477
|
4,205
|
4,278
|
4,370
|
Construction
|
263
|
297
|
279
|
290
|
275
|
283
|
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