Construction will face a labor gap of 430K workers this year , ABC says
By Jenn Goodman
Dive Brief
■ Construction companies will need to hire at least 430,000 more workers this year than they employed in 2020 , according to an average-growth analysis of U . S . Bureau of Labor Statistics data released this week by Associated Builders and Contractors .
■ Under a higher-growth rate scenario , the number of additional construction workers needed in 2021 could swell to nearly 1 million , ABC said . Last year the industry employed 7.8 million workers .
■ In addition , construction spending is likely to reach $ 1.45 trillion in 2021 , up 1.3 % from 2020 , according to the release . The analysis also revealed that every $ 1 billion in construction spending generates an average of at least 5,700 construction jobs .
Dive Insight :
The ABC study backs up recent findings from other groups that show a labor crunch is in the making for construction this year . For instance , the 2020 Marcum JOLTS Analysis of construction data released earlier this month found that despite coronavirus-induced layoffs , construction
6 DITCHMEN • MARCH 2021