Optimism in the U.S. construction industry has reached a record high, with builders forced to push off work because finding help is difficult due to the historic unemployment low.
The new Commercial Construction Index, compiled by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and USG Corp., climbed to a record high in the third quarter, with 77% of commercial contractors optimistic about their future.
The index, provided to Secrets in advance of its release, also found that “half of all contractors” expect higher revenue and the expectations for bigger profits next year also surged.
“Contractors are thinking about the future and are optimistic about what’s ahead,” said Christopher Griffin, CEO of USG Corporation. “Continued levels of confidence around backlog and profit suggest nonresidential construction will continue to play an important role in overall sector growth,” he added.
The Chamber noted that the industry is running short of workers and that 61% of commercial contractors plan to hire in the next six months.
“Half of contractors report turning down jobs because of a lack of workers,” said Neil Bradley, the chamber’s executive vice president. “We have the opportunity to expand the number of people with good paying jobs and keep our economy growing, but only if Washington steps up to fix our broken immigration system and reform employment training programs,” he added.
The report added that 49% of the industry has turned down new jobs because of a lack of workers, and 81% are asking their workforce to do more.
