AGC survey finds key challenges for Illinois contractors

The Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) conducted a survey about the challenges of contractors in finding hourly and salaried workers. The Illinois contractors find fewer problems in terms of seeking hourly and salaried workers as compared to the contractors at the national level, according to the survey.

A significant number of contractors in Illinois experiences difficulties in hiring workers, the survey revealed. 58 percent of the contractors said that they experienced difficulties in filling some or all positions. The surveyed contractors said that they used the compensation and productivity-boosting technologies for overcoming the worker shortages.

Stephen E. Sandherr, the CEO of the AGC, said, “Contractors are very optimistic about demand for construction in 2020”. He added that the contractors were troubled by the shortages of labor and the impacts of those shortages on their operation. The survey included 13 categories of the projects. The percentage of surveyed contractors who believed in the expansion of the market segment in all categories remained above the percentage of contractors who believe in the contraction of the market segment.

According to the survey, water and sewer construction showed the highest net positive reading of 25 percent. Bridge and highway, K-12 school, hospital construction, and transportation segments showed the net positive reading of 20 percent. Power projects and federal construction showed a net positive rating of 17 percent while higher education construction showed a net positive rating of 16 percent, according to the survey.

The private office construction segment showed the least net positive rating of 8 percent. According to the survey results, 44 percent of the surveyed contractors believed that the staff challenges drove the costs higher than anticipated. Ken Simonson, the chief economist of the AGC, said, “Firms are adopting a variety of approaches to replace workers.”