An already-tight market challenged by the demands of repair and reconstruction As Houston begins to rebuild and recover from Hurricane Harvey, many questions need answering in the aftermath of a natural disaster that according to Texas governor Greg Abbott may cost between $150 billion to $180 billion.
But one question that may quickly become a pressing one is where to get the construction labor force needed for such a vast demolition, renovation, and construction effort. Some estimates suggest more than 200,000 homes were damaged by the storm.
Due in part to booming construction and development in many cities and regions across the U.S., construction labor has been in short supply recently. Last month, roughly 77 percent of U.S. builders reported a shortage of framing crews, and 61 percent faced a shortage of drywall installation workers, according to the National Association of Home Builders. The Bureau of Labor Statistics Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) shows that nearly 200,000 construction industry jobs are unfilled across the country at a boom time for homebuilders, an increase of 81 percent in just two years. At 4.5 percent, unemployment in the U.S. construction industry hit its lowest levels in a decade earlier this year, putting increased pressure on foremen, project managers, and developers.
In fast-growing Houston, that has certainly been the case, according to Jonathan Brinsden, CEO of Midway Companies, a major development company based in ...