A report by the Associated General
Contractors of America
stated that Metro Phoenix managed to lure 6,000 new construction jobs in
January 2013 compared to that from a year ago. This is the fourth biggest jump
in the nation. This 6,000 job increase
was a 7 percentage gain year over year which has bought the Valley’s
construction workforce to a total 88,500 in. This report has been comprised
from data provided by Bureau of Labor
Statistics – United
States.
Other Metros
The largest job gain was posted in Dallas area of 10,000 during the same period whereas Los Angeles and Houston
posted job rise of 9,600 and 8,700 jobs respectively. Phoenix was however
amongst the 43% of the total 339 metros nationwide that saw the construction
jobs increase. On the other hand, the other 141 areas or 47% saw industry
employment decline. Chicago and Detroit reported the biggest employment
decline, each of which lost 3,500 jobs – and about 15% experienced no change at
all.
Considering that it has been the epicenter
of the construction downturn, and this construction jobs in Phoenix is particularly good news. Phoenix
is outpacing much of the nation because of major expansion in Chandler.
Not all positives
Although the demand for construction
activities have been finally picking up but the industry may have a hard time
ahead as a widespread shortage of skilled workers is looming. This has been one
of the harsh realities that Phoenix
has already been experiencing in recent months even despite its employment
gains. The short supply of skilled construction workers is a consequence of the
economic downturn.
Many workers were forced to leave the
industry or retire altogether, when construction projects came to a standstill
during the recession. Additionally, the industry’s “dire conditions” during
that time also continues to deter younger generations from pursuing careers in
construction. With the challenges of attracting new recruits and retaining
out-of-work ones, there aren’t that many skilled workers who are waiting for a
callback in many parts of the country.
If such job addition is reported in the
construction industry, then the contractors would have to scramble to find
enough skilled workers to meet demand.
