by Sandy Griffis, Executive Director, Yavapai County Contractors Association
Construction has always been one of the top revenue-generating industries in the world, and the United States construction market is one of the largest. Despite the size and scope of the industry, it is constantly changing and adapting to the current economic and social climate.
There is sustainable growth throughout many sectors of construction, especially in the private development of single-family homes and home improvement projects. The workplace is changing as well, with an increase in minority and female representation. New technologies and construction trends such as drone mapping and building information modeling software are creating new solutions for old inefficiencies and increasing safety on the job site.
This doesn’t mean the industry is without its challenges. There is still an ongoing labor shortage for skilled workers. YCCA was so proud to organize a second Boot Camp this past January and the success was beyond our expectations. Eight young adults have been placed in our local industry and are happy as can be.
How about some fun and interesting facts pertaining to the industry that I so love!
- At $992 billion, 77% of construction spending occurred in the private sector in 2018. (Statista)
- Single-family residential construction is estimated at $282 billion, up 4% from 2017. (FMI)
- Multifamily residential construction rose by 1% last year, with $67 billion in estimated value. (FMI)
- Commercial construction was $89 billion in 2018, up 2% from the previous year. (FMI)
- Home improvement spending increased by 5% in 2018. (FMI)
- 11.2 million people worked in the construction industry in 2018. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
- 35% of construction-related companies increased their staff size in 2017. (JBK)
- The average hourly wage of all construction employees was $31.08 in 2019. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
- The construction industry has added 297,000 net jobs. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
- The approximate dollar value of construction work done in the U.S. in November 2019 was estimated to be $1.3 billion. (CENSUS)
- 90% of U.S. general contractors reported they are concerned over the labor shortage. (USCC)
- 61% of contractors plan on hiring more employees in the next six months. (USCC)
- 61% of contractors also report having trouble finding skilled workers. (USCC)
- Gen Y and Millennials make up 45.5% of the industry, while 54.4% were born between 1960 and 1979. (JBK)
- 10% of the total construction workforce is female. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
- 50% of all construction in the U.S. is expected to occur in just 20 cities over the next five years. (Built Worlds)
- Costing $417/sq. ft., San Francisco is the most expensive city to build in 2019. (Curbed)
- 42.6% of firms are experimenting with drones — up 5% in 2019. (JBK)
- 57% of companies are considering job-site employee tracking. (JBK)
- 10.8% reported using smartwatches for work. (JBK)
- 35.9% of construction employees are hesitant at trying new technology. (JBK)
- 55% of construction firms use Building Information Modeling (BIM) software, while 27.5% intend to adopt the technology within the decade. (JBK)
- 38.2% of companies cite “lack of IT staff” as the most limiting factor in adopting new technology. (JBK)
- 75% of construction firms now promote themselves through social media. (JBK)
- The average backlog of projects for general contractors is 9.3 months, indicating a stable market with room for growth. (USCC)
- Apple is the most used mobile operating system, with 78.7% of companies using it. (JBK)
- 59% of construction companies use the Bluebeam (Revu) mobile app for plan management. (JBK)
