While construction jobs are on the rise across the United States, Arizona isn’t experiencing the same type of increase and that’s having an effect on the time it takes to build houses in the state.
Arizona employed more than 240,000 construction workers at the peak of the housing boom in 2006. Today, there are about 134,000 construction workers employed in the state, according to local economist Rick Merritt, president of Elliott D. Pollack and Company.
Over the past year, Arizona gained about 4,000 construction jobs. Meanwhile, across the country the construction industry is growing substantially. The latest U.S. jobs report found that 58,000 new construction jobs were added to the nation’s economy last month, the most in nearly a decade.
“The biggest complaint we hear from contractors and homebuilders is that there just isn’t enough labor,” Merritt said. “And if we really see a construction boom, particularly in the housing market, the homebuilders are concerned that they won’t be able to keep up with demand.”
Merritt added that because of the construction labor shortage, homebuilders are paying higher wages to recruit and retain workers. As a result, he said it costs more to build houses and often those costs are passed along to buyers.
Information from KTAR
