Optimistic Employment Outlook for the Construction Industry in 2011

More construction firms are planning to hire rather than make layoffs in 2011, according to an industry-wide survey conducted by the Associated General Contractors of America and Navigant. 

In Illinois, 29% of construction firms report that they plan to hire in 2011, which translates to an average addition of 11 employees per firm or a 20% increase in a given workforce.  This is a near two-fold increase from 2010, when only 15% of construction firms added workers and 58% reported layoffs. 

Despite the improving employment outlook, however, more contractors expect the construction market to shrink in 2011 than expect it to grow.  Contractors remain optimistic about the projects in the hospital and higher education market but have lower expectations for the private office, retail, warehouse and lodging markets, due in part to a decline in stimulus-funded work.

Additionally, a growing number of firms are adopting new technologies and techniques such as Building Information Modeling (BIM) and Lean Construction Concepts, and are increasingly working on Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) registered projects and public private partnerships (PPP).  Many construction firms are hopeful that these strategies will allow them to take advantage of and thrive in a resurgent construction market. 

The full AGC press release is available at http://news.agc.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/2011-Outlook-Release.pdf.

The complete set of Illinois-specific data is available at http://news.agc.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/IL.pdf.

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