Diversifying Construction Labor Pools With Intention

If you feel like there are fewer workers to be found these days, rest assured, you are correct. A decrease in the rate of births, declining since the 1970s, decreasing labor market participation, more job openings, a shortfall of immigrants and a surge of retirements, are creating a workforce problem that is hard to ignore.

Although we continue to experience the challenge, many of us still cling to the flawed idea that continuing to do what we’ve always done will somehow, some way, finally yield positive results. So, for those of you who need a bit more convincing, let’s take a look at the data, create some urgency around why you need to make some changes, and then talk about potential new and effective approaches to recruiting.

The Numbers Don’t Lie

We need over 2 million more people in the labor force to recover to the 63.4% labor force participation rate we had in February of 2020, just prior to the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. We also need 175 million more people in the labor force to just bring us back to the number of people who were working at that time.

The labor force participation rate is only a measure of currently employed individuals and people actively seeking work (unemployed). If you’re sitting on the sidelines, as an estimated 40% of our total population is right now, and you’ve chosen not to work or have just given up looking for a job, you are no longer being counted as unemployed. So, what are the most common reasons people are on the sidelines? The major ones are as follows: retirement, school, family caretaking and being unable to work.

 Just like we market differently to different audiences, we can no longer rely on just posting in the same locations in the same ways.

Employment Opportunities Are Plentiful

The job market is currently booming, with millions more jobs available than there were prior to COVID-19. As I write this, there are just over 10 million job openings (an increase of 3 million jobs from February of 2020). This chart shows the ever-growing number of jobs available across all industry sectors.

The takeaways here should be evident. Your opening is not only competing with others in your