After 5 years, construction still reels from COVID’s labor impact

On March 13, 2020, two days after the World Health Organization classified COVID-19 as a pandemic, the U.S. declared a public health emergency.

Uncertainty swirled. Work of all kinds slowed. People isolated themselves, wore masks and worked or took classes on their devices from their kitchen tables, bedrooms or home offices.

“Before COVID hit, we were constantly in the conference room,” said Ray Garfield, co-founder and chairman of Garfield Public/Private, a Dallas-based P3 developer. “Whether it was our place, or whether it was the architect’s or the general contractor’s, all of us were at the table. And then all of a sudden we’re not.”

But, as contractors cannot build structures remotely, many projects were deemed “essential,” which meant that in-person activities continued for most construction firms.

“The fact that construction was deemed essential likely saved the industry as we know it and kept hundreds of thousands of people employed,” said Brandon Mabile, corporate business development director for Baton Rouge, Louisiana-based Performance Contractors. “Had construction shut down, many skilled workers would have been forced to find new employment, and who knows how many would have returned to the industry when work finally resumed.”

At the same time, some projects were put on hold or scrapped entirely, and many workers were laid off as a result. In July 2020, CPWR — The Center for Construction Research and Training, found that nearly 1 million construction workers lost their jobs, with more than half temporarily laid off.

Some chose to retire, a trend heightened the high median age in the industry, while others left construction or potentially chose not to pursue it due to the volatile nature of employment. When the contractors tried to hire them back a year later, workers had become both harder to