Greetings to you all!
I recently read an article in CNN Money, which confirmed what I have been witnessing in the Chicagoland area over the past few months.
The article identified the labor shortage in the construction industry at present, and pointed out that it is placing - and will continue to place an upward price pressure on new construction.
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) recently reported in that 46% of its members say they have fallen behind schedule on finishing projects, 15% turned down jobs and 9% lost or canceled sales because they can't find enough workers.
After the housing collapse, many workers moved on to other occupations or returned to their native countries. A lot of the skilled workers, aged out of the industry during the downturn, and since there was so little work for so many years, few young people have entered the trades to replace them.
Another nasty bi-product that has become quite prolific of late has been "employee pilfering". Rival contractors will come right up to a job site to recruit, enticing workers with the promise of higher pay.
All of this has forced sub contractors to raise wages, sometimes dramatically, to retain their workforce. What will become typical for subcontractors, will be not being able to begin projects on time, not completing them on schedule, or if the builder is not a big enough account, just turning down the work altogether.
Be sure to factor in the correct pricing when you get the opportunity to bid a new home for a customer. If you rely on sub contractor pricing that is out of date, you may encounter an unwanted surprise at the conclusion of the project.
Hope to see you all soon.
Kieran Lagan
