Construction is some areas and states in the US didn’t feel the devastating effects of the COVID-19 outbreak, like in DeKalb county in Georgia for example. That being said, it appears that although construction suffered greatly in the crisis of 2008, the construction industry is holding up well during the first wave of COVID-19 as well as in the aftermath. Even though the construction industry is down by over 30% year-to-year with the pandemic crisis according to Glass Door Economic Research.
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Construction Managers Struggling to Meet Demand
In case one would decide to check for construction-related jobs on Indeed.com, there would be around 1,400 vacant jobs in the sector. Given the fact that there are 975,000 lost jobs in the sector of construction concluded with April, the number of vacant jobs in the sector is still low. In the meantime, construction managers are having trouble with meeting demand.
Virtual Scheduling and Planning
Construction companies are turning to digitization with the use of collaboration tools and video conferencing tools such as Zoom amidst the virus crisis. Hiring and planning in construction also rely on tech adoption, to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19 and to protect the public health alongside construction workers. Planning is usually most efficiently conducted through the use of tools such as BIM.
Shortage in Construction
The ultimate goal in times of crisis is to meet construction deadlines and the budget for construction projects while the industry is facing shortages. Even at the moment when construction companies are resuming work across different construction sites, the shortage in labor is noted. In the meantime, areas in the US where there have been numerous layoffs in construction are canceling and delaying projects, which is not the case with Georgia for example.
