The construction industry needs to attract 546,000 new workers this year — on top of the normal pace of hiring — to meet its expected demand for labor, according toEven if the economy slows down in 2024, the industry will still need to hire 342,000 workers on top of normal hiring to meet demand.
that looks at the relationship between construction spending growth and construction employment and considers inputs like worker demographics.While single-family home construction is slowing, there are "a growing number of mega-projects," that need workers, ABC chief economist Anirban Basu says in a statement.Crucially, nearly 1 in 4 construction workers are older than 55, Basu says, and not enough younger workers are coming into the industry to replace them.