Construction industry seeks to attract workers amid hiring challenges

Construction employment in the Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson metro area increased approximately 8% year over year in October as firms moved projects —from transportation to commercial construction — forward while hiring challenges abound, the Associated General Contractors of America said Tuesday. 

The above figure is not seasonally adjusted.

The metro area added 4,700 new construction jobs over the course of a 12-month period beginning in Oct. 2020, bringing the total number of local construction industry employees to 62,100, said Kenneth Simonson, chief economist for AGC, a Virginia-based trade association that tracks employment in more than 350 metro areas.

The latest employment report from the U.S. Department of Labor confirms the metro area's year-over-year employment numbers for the sector, while noting that the construction industry lost 500 jobs over the past month.

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"It's really encouraging to see so much construction activity underway here in the metro area,"  Simonson said during a press conference Tuesday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. "But as demand for construction grows here and elsewhere, firms in many parts of the country have a difficult time in finding enough qualified workers."

Simonson added that across the nation the pandemic has driven out many qualified workers who have retired or found equally lucrative work in other historically lower-paying professions. The construction labor shortage threatens to help undermine  economic growth, slow building schedules and inflate costs of key development projects. 

Competition for workers

Like other industries post-pandemic lockdown, construction firms are being forced to compete for hourly workers against retail and fast food chains that are increasing wages to remain competitive, Simonson said.

"While the industry has always paid more than other sectors, what we've seen during the pandemic is historically low-paid industries — fast food, warehouse, delivery — they have dramatically increased the starting salaries...," he said. "That makes it a challenge for construction to continue to compete."

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Nationally, construction employment has increased since the end of the 2006-2011 downturn in construction employment, Simonson said. Indianapolis has not had as much of a slump, but the rest of the country was hit particularly hard by the pandemic after seeing a slow recovery over the last decade. 

The association noted that a study it conducted in September revealed that roughly 89% of the construction firms surveyed had trouble finding enough skilled workers to finish projects. 

"The pandemic has kept some workers out of the market even as demand for construction has remained strong in places like Indianapolis," Simonson said, adding that Central Indiana, however, remains an example of a metro experiencing construction industry job growth.

Of the more than 350 metro areas that it tracks, AGC found that 236 metro areas added new jobs during the past year, including South Bend and the Elkhart-Goshen area which has seen a boast in construction employment thanks to the RV industry.

Still, the trade organization said the October job gains in the Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson metro area reflect one of the largest gains recorded for last month. The metro area gained more jobs than all but eight areas tracked by the AGC.

Central Indiana has benefitted from having a variety of construction projects, including highway and road projects. And, Simonson adds that the metro area is not heavily reliant on office and retail construction projects to produce jobs as both sectors recover from the pandemic at a slower pace. 

But with hiring challenges expected to persist, AGC said that job growth in Indianapolis could be undermined unless action is taken to expand the pool of available workers. 

Getting ahead of a problem

With many U.S. firms already struggling to entice qualified hourly workers, AGC officials have begun a campaign to attract more Americans to the profession, stopping in Indianapolis to highlight key projects and job growth here.

The association laid out its efforts to retain and attract workers during a press conference at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, home to the Indiana Pacers, on Tuesday.

The arena, formerly called Bankers Life Fieldhouse, is the site of an ongoing three-phase renovation aimed at modernizing and upgrading the venue. In Indiana, construction was deemed an essential industry during the pandemic's lockdown, making it possible for projects to continue as planned.

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The association has engaged in a targeted digital advertising campaign and launched a program to help retain newly-hired workers. It also recently concluded a workforce summit to share tips about effective workforce development programs across the nation. 

In Indiana, AGC of Indiana and the Indiana Contractors Inc. are also promoting the need to update career education programs in partnership with Indiana high schools. 

Lee Carmichael, president and CEO of Weddle Bros. Construction Cos., an AGC member, was on-site at Gainbridge to discuss the project and provide insight into the challenge confronting the local industry.

On Tuesday, construction workers continued work on an outdoor plaza adjacent to the area. The area will serve as a community gathering space outfitted with seating and include an outdoor basketball court that could be converted into a  ice skating rink during the winter. 

Workers also have added a new entrance to the east. Construction work inside of Gainbridge Fieldhouse is expected to be completed after the Pacers' current season concludes, Carmichael said. 

The work currently taking place at the arena is expected to be completed in fall 2022. Carmichael said his firm has made adjustments to meet the project's schedule. 

"We adapt. Our crews are working longer hours with fewer people. We find different ways to do things," he said, "The owners have their schedules. Our clients have their schedules. We're doing to do what it takes to meet those schedules, but we're getting to critical mass on  the worker shortage, and we could really use more people interested in this industry."

Contact IndyStar reporter Alexandria Burris at aburris@gannett.com or call 317-617-2690. Follow her on Twitter: @allyburris.