Trump Administration Cabinet members have presented policies that will allow them to allow “building, build, build” project owners, but the results of a new construction industry survey show that the application of high immigration threatens to group delays in the work -related project.
Labor shortages are the leading cause of project delays, which affect the work of 45% of contractors, according to the latest annual survey of the workforce of the general associated contractors of America and the National Center for Construction Education and Research. About 1,400 contractors surveyed in July and August.
Eighty-eight percent of the companies that respond have openings for artisanal positions per hour, but 92% of companies said that it is so difficult or even more difficult to fill these openings that a year ago, when 94% of hiring contractors also reported difficulties in filling openings for artisanal workers. These difficulties were not limited to certain operations, more than 75% of contractors reported problems with finding electricians, heavy equipment and cranes operators, iron workers, mechanics, pipes/welders and plumbers.
At the same time, 28% of companies said they have been affected by immigration shares for the last six months. Although only 5% stated that immigration agents visit the workplace or other location, 10% of contractors declared workers lost due to real or immigration rumor action, and 20% said that their subcontractors had lost their workers due to the application of immigration.
The impact of the application of immigration varied from state to state. AGC provided results at the state level for 21 states. In Georgia, 75% of contractors stated that they were affected by the application of immigration, compared to only 8% of Idaho’s contractors, where no contractor reported that immigration agents visit their workplace.
The survey was conducted by President Donald Trump to sign the congressional reconciliation package, which increased funding for immigration, said Ken Simonson, an AGC chief economist, during a web that discusses the results of the survey. He said that even more companies are likely to be affected in the coming months.
Most contractors have not used programs to allow immigrants to work in seventy-one of the United States, said they did not use authorized workers to work in the county through different action for children’s arrivals (DACA or Dreamers) or the temporary protected state program, and 77% said they did not use the H-2B program or other temporary work visa programs. More companies reported that they did not know if they had participated in the programs that they said to be used to hire employees.
To help address work problems, AGC calls on Congress and Trump administration to provide more ways for people to enter or stay in the United States for construction.
“This should include the establishment of a new specific temporary work visa program,” said Simonson. “And it should also include a way for the people already in the country, either here through the temporary protected state program, which are looking for asylum or without documentation, to remain legally in the country and continue to contribute to the North -American economy.”
Brian Turmail, Vice President of Public Affairs and AGC working force, said that the group has been working to make the officials of construction labor, the ways in which they could have a positive impact and how the steps they take are to eliminate industry workers. The results have been “mixed” so far, he said. Although the legislation proposed as the Dignity Act would establish a program that allows the people of the country to gain legal status with the work authorization, Turmail said that some administration officials “have put much hopes and expectations” that some of the labor dispositions related to the SNAP and Medicare benefits in the reconciliation package will provide more people in the construction labor.
“We hope they are right, but we usually remind them that these requirements are not started for more than a year,” said Turmail.
