BIDEN’S AMERICA: Report shows America is short ONE MILLION construction workers due to pandemic payouts

According to Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), 430,000 construction workers need to be hired in 2021, and 1 million more in the next two years to keep up with demand.

ABC President and CEO Michael Bellaman said, “ABC’s annual forecast incorporates several variables that may affect the U.S. construction spend and employment demand over the next few years. These variables, which range from inflationary pressure, rising commodity costs and other global supply chain concerns to the regulatory and legislative trajectory of a new administration and the vaccine rollout domestically and even globally, are considered in the ABC cone of probability.”

Construction jobs were considered essential during government-induced COVID-19 lockdowns. “However, the public funding on which infrastructure projects rely and the general economic health of the nation both threaten to significantly slow down the market,” suggests the Blue Book Network. 

According to the ABC report, “In 2020, nominal (not adjusted for inflation) construction spending rose by 4.8% even as employment fell by 6.3%.” Contractors are searching for applicants in all job levels, however, equipped workers are few and far between. Analysts suggest the reduced workforce is a result of the recent influx of stimulus checks and EDD payouts during the pandemic.