As every industry takes an economic blow from the effects of the pandemic, the construction industry is taking it from all sides.
The Association of General Contractors has come out with their 2021 Construction Hiring and Business Outlook, survey of more than 1300 contractors across the nation assessing their best guess of what the unfolding year will hold, and it’s pretty bleak.
Included are 132 Texas firms, and their results are here.
After a very promising result at the dawn of 2020, the immediate future portends shrinking business and a drop in hiring, though most are still looking for good workers. It’s just that many sectors of the economy are contracting and not planning on building right now, and that’s hurting builders, especially when it comes to those who specialize in retail. “Contractors are most pessimistic about the market for retail construction, which has a net reading of negative 64%,” says AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson. The bright spots or infrequent. “The only positive exceptions were for warehouse construction, health care other than hospitals, and a small positive for water and sewer construction.” Every other sector is in negative territory, transportation, manufacturing and housing included.
It’s the bleakest perspective they’ve had in ten years of taking the survey, and no one is looking for a recovery in the first six months of 2021.
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