CNN  , — ,
Eddie Martin ca n’t build as many homes as he’d like in Texas because his contractors do n’t have enough workers, particularly skilled tradespeople such as electricians, carpenters and plumbers.
According to Martin, CEO of Tilson Custom Home Builders in Austin, it is more important than ever for the US to enable more legal immigrants into the country to boost the ranks of the construction sector. This is made worse by an aging workforce and a growing number of pensions.
” We’re losing business. There’s no question”, said Martin, whose sister’s home started the business in 1932. ” A lot of those qualified workers are retiring,” he said. There’s nothing replacing them”.
Martin works with 300 contractors to build homes for teachers, police officers, firefighters and others in the thick school, with 500 products already in the pipeline. However, he now needs to inform would-be clients that it will probably take 14 months to finish the job, as opposed to nine times, which causes some of them to leave. Tilson claims he could possibly build another 175 homes a year if the contractors increased their workforces by a second.
Martin and other professionals in the residential and commercial construction sectors have been lobbying Congress for years to either create a new job card program or grow existing ones, such as the H-2B program, to make it easier for them to employ more immigrants. Some would like to make asylum applicants ‘ work authorizations happen more quickly, so they can begin training sooner rather than wait 180 nights, as required by federal law.
At a time when fewer young Americans choose to work in construction, the need is growing as the demand for housing rises and as federal money for equipment is injected into local populations across the nation. President Joe Biden has just advocated for a number of activities to lower housing costs and increase supply, including one at a campaign stop in Nevada on Tuesday.
However, the dangerous politics surrounding the border are already stifling the passage of fresh immigration laws in Congress, which will undermine any wish that more documented immigrants will soon be able to construct homes, apartment buildings, financial developments, and infrastructure projects.
“ Our issues most likely wo n’t be resolved until the situation at the southern border is resolved,” said Jim Young, senior director of congressional relations for the Associated General Contractors of America, a group that supports the commercial and multifamily construction sector.
However, the economy is n’t giving up on making a petition to Congress. This year, the vendor party is running its second digital ads in some legislative districts about the need for more legitimate immigrant workers for the construction industry as well as for more funding for specialized education and training.
Labor deficit a major concern
According to a January study for the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index, the higher cost and labor shortage ranked among the biggest issues facing homebuilders last year and are expected to be major priorities once more this year. These were a problem in 2023, according to some 73 % of builders, and roughly the same proportion of builders believe they will be a problem in 2019 as well. Another significant homebuilder issues for 2024 include high interest rates and potential customers waiting for declining prices or prices.
There were 413, 000 building job opportunities in January, near the report 454, 000 jobs in November, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. But the business needs to bring on more than 700, 000 new employees a time because so many people are leaving area, mainly due to pensions, said Robert Dietz, chief economist at the National Association of Home Builders.
In 2021, more than one in five construction workers were 55 or older, according to an NAHB analysis of Census data.
After years of fewer immigrants joining the sector due to the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions on travel and border crossings and the Trump administration’s clampdown on immigration, the share of immigrants in construction has only recently started to rise. Nearly a quarter of construction workers in 2022 were foreign- born, a historic high, according to NAHB, citing US Census data.
However, more immigrant workers are required because the American workforce is n’t addressing the gap. Working with schools, colleges, and the federal Job Corps program has the industry’s trade associations worked to train the next generation of American construction workers. However, things have n’t made progress. The industry says many kids are pushed by parents and educators, who do n’t view construction as a good career option, to go to college.
According to Dietz, “we’ve polled young adults and questioned them about the industries in which they want to work.” ” Construction particularly does n’t fare very well”.
Limited legal work pathways
The H- 2B visa, which is designed for temporary or seasonal workers, is the main visa that construction companies can use to recruit immigrant labor. However, many in the industry claim that the H- 2B program does n’t work well because of the strict cap on and fierce competition for visas, as well as the year-round operations of many construction companies. For fiscal year 2024, there are about 131, 000 H- 2B visas available.
Construction trade organizations have also pushed for a new visa for industries that require temporary workers with some skills but not a college degree, in addition to their support for increasing the number of H-2B visas issued. With increasing demand from construction firms, the number of visas issued would fluctuate.
Even though bills to establish an H-2C program have been introduced in Congress, such as Pennsylvania Republican Rep. Lloyd Smucker’s proposal last year, they have n’t progressed much.
According to Michael Clemens, an economics professor at George Mason University, expanding the visa system or accelerating the expansion of work authorizations would also help the industry hire more asylum seekers crossing the US-Mexico border, many of whom are currently employed illegally in construction, landscaping, and other fields.
Meanwhile, demand for more homes, commercial development and infrastructure projects is expected to grow. Overall, NAHB estimates the nation needs an additional 1.5 million housing units, while other projections are even higher. Additionally, the American Rescue Plan Act and the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will help support non-residential development, which will continue to flourish.
” We have companies telling us that they are not bidding for projects- infrastructure projects, economic development projects, you name it- because they do n’t have enough people to do the work,” said Brian Turmail, vice president of public affairs &, strategic initiatives at the Associated General Contractors of America.
Shane Wegner’s Midlands Contracting is one of those firms. He has had to turn down work because he ca n’t find the additional 10 employees he’d like to hire to build sewer, water and storm sewer projects in Nebraska, Kansas and elsewhere in the Midwest, despite constantly advertising on websites, social media and hiring platforms, as well as offering referral bonuses.
Despite his and his peers ‘ efforts to pique students ‘ interest in construction, he must compete with manufacturers and meatpackers for local workers. And a few years ago, he applied to get workers through the H- 2B program, which cost him close to$ 10, 000, but he was not selected.
” The reality is the biggest fix to this is us being able to hire immigrants”, said Wegner, vice president at Midlands, which was started by his father, Dallas, in 1977. ” We’re getting all this infrastructure money, but I do n’t have the people to do it … We’d love to get all this work done as fast as we can, but we just ca n’t unless we can get more legal immigration”.
