A new survey of contractors by the Associated General Contractors of America and software firm Autodesk has found the share of contractors who have had future projects canceled or delayed because of COVID-19 has reached 60%—nearly double the amount from June, according to www.constructiondive.com.
In addition, 33% of firms said projects already in progress had been halted because of the pandemic. The COVID-19 crisis also has worsened the industry’s labor shortage—44% of the 2,000 firms surveyed said when they tried to recall laid-off or furloughed workers, some staff refused to return to work, citing a preference for unemployment benefits, virus concerns or family responsibilities.
Doug Hacker, executive vice president at Lexington, Ky.-based commercial building contractor Congleton-Hacker Co., is concerned about the lack of new projects combined with his diminishing backlog. He said his firm’s experiences reflect the survey’s results.
“We’ve seen roughly a half a dozen projects either slowed or halted during this period, and roughly another three projects that were stopped altogether,” Hacker said.
He also said the federal government’s $600 weekly supplement to unemployment checks made it more difficult to bring workers back to the job.
“That unemployment benefit that was tacked on really hurt,” Hacker said. “Now that [workers] are seeing that the future is not that bright on the construction side down here, it's even harder to pull them away to where they’ve got to give up that unemployment, and risk possibly having to get back in line for it.”
