The construction industry is coming to grips with a massive problem: finding, hiring and training the next generation of construction workers in the United States. Between the fallout from job loss due to the pandemic, the “Great Resignation” (where people increasingly and voluntarily quit their jobs) and an aging Baby Boomer workforce retiring in droves, the construction industry must immediately prioritize attracting a new workforce.

According to the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), construction faces a workforce shortage of over 650,000 workers in 2022 alone. They noted that since the end of the Great Recession, workers aged 25-54 had dropped 8%, while workers 55 and over have risen by 20%. With the average retirement age at 61 years old, a fifth of the industry could resign within the next six years.

Reprinted courtesy of James Barlow, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved.