According to the Associated General Contractors of America, construction has significantly increased from 2015 to 2016. While the mild weather in January 2016 may have helped to increase the numbers for that month, the fact remains that the construction industry is off to an extremely robust start for 2016.
The numbers show that 2016 is a very good year to be a contractor.
All Year To Year Trends Are Up
The data shows that overall construction spending in January 2016 is up 10.4 percent over January 2015. The construction of private residential homes is up 7.7 percent in January 2016 when compared to January 2015, and multifamily residential construction was up a whopping 30 percent in the same period. Private commercial construction was up 11.5 percent from January 2015 to January 2016, while single-family homes showed a 6.6 percent increase in that same time span. Single-family residential construction showed the slowest increase in spending, which shows just how strong the overall market is in 2016.
Public construction revenue spending increased 13 percent from January 2015 to January 2016, with highway construction showing the biggest leap at 34 percent. Experts in the construction industry note that the warm weather in January 2016 could account for some of the increase in activity, but the weather alone cannot account for that much of an increase. In general, the construction industry is seeing significant gains despite the struggling economy.
Construction workers will find the job market very inviting in 2016.
A Good Problem To Have
ForConstructionPros.com estimates that there will be approximately 3 million construction jobs created in 2016. But the sharp rise in the number of construction projects is going to create a shortage of skilled workers. The shortage of workers will be so significant that it will be estimated that almost 75,000 new construction startups will simply not happen because of the lack of workers.
While not having enough workers is a problem for the tens of thousands of construction companies that will not have a chance to get started in 2016, it is good news for the workers who currently have construction jobs. The lack of workers will mean higher wages, better benefits and an increase in the number of hours worked in 2016. One of the contributing factors in the lack of talent is that 35 percent of construction workers that lost their jobs in the 2008 economic collapse moved on to other industries. But that drop in the available workforce means that current construction workers can expect to have their pick of the best jobs in every sector for the foreseeable future.
The strong start to the construction industry for 2016 means that contractors will want to stay updated on all of the information available about where to find the best talent. When you use the courses at PDH Contractors as a resource, both workers and contractors can stay up to date on the state of the industry and what is being done about the labor shortage. Browse courses by state to find the resource you need to land the job you want, or get the information you need to make sure that you can take full advantage to one of the best starts to a year in construction in almost a decade.