Dana Farmer
With the addition of 4000 jobs in 2017, Utah’s construction industry was the fastest-growing labor segment in the state. Construction job growth was fueled by not only busy residential and commercial markets, but also a series of special projects, including the Salt Lake City International Airport, a new state prison, road-building and various other public and private projects. However, when the economy contracted during the Great Recession workers left the industry and the state and have not returned.
Currently, 86 percent of workers entering the industry are from Utah. And despite an average hourly wage of $29.06, the construction industry is still understaffed and well below its pre-recession 100,000 job total.
The labor problem facing the industry is not just a shortage of labor, but also retirement of older workers. There are not enough young employees entering the market to replace the aging workforce. Some member of the industry chalk this up to the unwillingness of millennials to engage in difficult physical labor. Others believe it is a matter of educating the potential workforce.
In order to attract employees, companies are offering higher salaries, paying for training and, in some cases, asking employees to recruit friends. Additionally, the Utah Legislature attempted to jump-start labor growth during the 2017 general session by eliminating the requirement for Utah contractor licensees to have at least two years’ experience and pass a competency test.
Anecdotally, various contractors report offering profit-sharing to key employees, generous benefit packages, payment of apprenticeship programs and other incentives to keep and attract workers. Whether, and to what extent, these efforts succeed in rebuilding the industry are yet to be seen, but as long as Utah remains one of the fastest-growing states, contractors anticipate having plenty of work in front of them to offer the wages and benefits necessary to build the workforce Utah needs to fulfill its growing demands.
Dana Farmer is a shareholder at Durham Jones & Pinegar with over 20 years of experience primarily representing subcontractors and construction material suppliers with selling and merging their businesses and lobbying the Utah Legislature.