Photo Credit: Tong stocker / Shutterstock
After slowing down at the beginning of the pandemic, the construction industry has bounced back, spurred on by the housing market boom.
Construction employment reached 7.7 million in August, surpassing pre-COVID levels, and nearly matching peak construction employment in 2006. With the signing of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act into law, the long-term outlook for the construction industry is looking upbeat as well. This legislation provides billions of dollars in funding for infrastructure projects and creates millions of jobs over the next decade, many in construction.
However, as the construction sector rapidly recovered from its pandemic-induced decline, supply chain disruptions proved persistent and inflation tightly squeezed household budgets. Although average hourly earnings for all private-sector workers have increased by 5.2% from 2021, inflation hit a 40-year high in June with prices up 9.1% over the past 12 months. Inflation has moderated slightly since, but is still at elevated levels.
Even with the strong job market, construction wages have failed to keep pace with inflation. The average weekly wage for full-time construction workers was $887 in April, after adjusting for inflation. This represents a 12% drop from October 2020 when real wages peaked at $1,012.
To make things worse, the housing market has been red-hot for the past two-plus years. Increased demand for homes due to record-low mortgage rates,...
Mumbai: Senior Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar on Sunday demanded that cases should be registered against former Amravati Lok Sabha member Navneet Rana and BJP Rajya Sabha MP Anil Bonde for alleg...