Builders in Texas were already lacking skilled workers, but Hurricane Harvey, a Category 4 hurricane that dropped 50 inches of rain on Houston over the last week, just made things much worse.
The San Antonio Express-News reports the state needs concrete workers, electricians, cement masons, carpenters, plumbers, and drywall installers, according to a new survey from the Associated General Contractors of America.
The shortage has a few causes. The recession pushed a third of the state’s construction laborers to other fields. Also, the workforce is growing older and is now nearing retirement age, and not enough young workers are stepping in to replace them.
More than two-thirds of Texas construction companies said in the new survey they are having “a hard time” filling hourly craft worker positions. … The worker shortage already has caused construction companies to raise their pay scales to attract workers, to pass up projects because they don’t have enough workers, and to prolong the time necessary to finish projects.
Houston’s recovery effort is expected to draw in laborers from across Texas.
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