Why are Utah workers leaving the construction industry?

According to a poll by the Associated General Contractors of America, and reported in The Salt Lake Tribune, four out of every five Utah-based contractors reported that a labor shortage is affecting their operations. As more and more projects are given the go-ahead, there simply aren’t enough workers to go around. Not to mention, fewer high school graduates are choosing to pursue an education in trade skills like carpentry, masonry, or crane and heavy-equipment operation.

When the great recession hit, it had an impact not only on new projects, but on upgrades to existing projects. No one had the funds to put toward construction. Many workers left the field to pursue work elsewhere. Now that we are climbing out of that recession and there’s more work to go around, there simply isn’t enough workers to get the job done. For every five workers that leave the construction industry, only one person joins it. That is an astounding loss, and it will take some creative thinking to overcome this roadblock.

Surprisingly, it wasn’t just the trade jobs that were left vacant. Jobs such as project managers and cost estimators also left when there was a lack of work, and they haven’t come back. Employers have started offering higher pay, more benefits, even hiring bonuses to fill these vacant positions, but as of right now, the industry is still struggling in Utah. We may have to start thinking outside the box and try new ways to get people interested in these jobs if we hope to continue to be able to innovate and grow.