Without question, the building and construction industry has been impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak. Approximately 1.1 million construction jobs were eliminated in the first two months of the pandemic prior to the industry’s designation as “essential.” While the industry has recouped nearly 80 percent of its workforce since then, companies will need to hire another 1 million workers over the next two years to meet the country’s insatiable demand for new home construction and improvement.1
That said, the pandemic is only exacerbating the skilled labor shortage. Young laborers fresh out of trade school or an apprenticeship are now few and far between. That, plus an aging construction workforce (the average age is 43), has created a serious gap in employment.