The Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) and Sage Construction & Real Estate teamed to produce a construction hiring and business outlook for the year.
The joint 2022 Construction Hiring & Business Outlook is the result of a survey sent out to AGC member firms gauging their expectations for labor and market conditions for the coming business year. This year, more than 1,000 firms participated in the survey, with the overall responses being positive.
Stephen Sandherr, AGC’s CEO, says contractors are optimistic about the year in front of them.
“They expect demand for most types of projects to increase and, as a result, most firms plan to add staff,” Sandherr says. “Contractors also continue to invest in new technologies that are designed to make them more efficient and effective. Contractors are far more upbeat about this year than they were at the start of 2021, when our members expected demand for many types of projects to contract and were less bullish in their hiring plans.”
Still, contractors recognize 2022 will present some headwinds.
“Chief among those challenges are supply chain problems that are making it hard to budget for and procure key construction materials,” Sandherr says. “And workforce shortages remain severe and are making it difficult for contractors to keep pace with demand.”
Feeling bullish
According to AGC, contractors are most optimistic about the market for highway and bridge construction.
There is similar optimism for transit, rail and airport projects, as well as water and sewer projects.
All of these segments stand to see increased federal investments because of the Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act, the association says. This funding, however, must be distributed quickly.
“Congress must rapidly appropriate the funding it promised to deliver when it passed the bipartisan infrastructure bill,” Sandherr says. “These new investments are a key reason why contractors are so optimistic about the demand for infrastructure. Yet, Congress failed to include these new funds when it passed a temporary spending measure at the end of last year.”
Federal construction and power construction are also segments contractors are upbeat about.
Among predominantly private-sector categories, warehouse and health care facility projects – including clinics, testing facilities and medical labs – each drew positive responses from contractors, who also feel good about hospital construction.
Two segments that drew negative responses in the survey were retail and private offices.
“The last two years have become increasingly unpredictable, due in large part to the coronavirus and public officials’ varied reactions to it,” says Ken Simonson, AGC’s chief economist. “But, assuming current trends hold, 2022 should be a relatively strong year for the construction industry.”