Springfield’s landscape is about to change.
Rising from the ashes of the recession, many of the city’s major players are on the brink of large construction projects.
CoxHealth broke ground on a $200 million patient tower, Springfield Public Schools passed an April bond issue with $55.7 million for five planned construction projects and Missouri State University is designing a $4 million welcome center. Developers also have shown renewed interest in projects that were put on the back burner during the recession, including $15.7 million in renovations to the Heer’s building and a $13 million redevelopment of the Woodruff building. Continued construction on Mercy’s $115 million orthopedic hospital and its $28 million rehabilitation hospital, coupled with the $22 million Farmers Park, means Springfield’s demand for construction workers and tradesmen is about to skyrocket.
“We are about to reach a level of critical need,” said Jerry Hackleman, senior vice president of DeWitt & Associates Inc. and vice president of the Springfield Contractors Association. “Add all the upcoming work to the fact that many large projects are still underway in Joplin, and we are going to have to do something.”
Hackleman said the local industry already is experiencing a shortage of skilled manpower in trade fields such as mechanical, electrical and drywall, and officials are concerned about filling the need when the time comes.
Hackleman said the SCA is spearheading a forum aiming to gather public entities, business owners and contractors together to hammer out a timeline of upcoming construction across the Queen City. Tentatively scheduled for Sept. 13, Hackleman said each party involved needs to be cognizant of what the others are doing.
“We need to make a plan, figure out the timeline and tackle the manpower issues from there,” he said.
Killian Construction Co. Marketing and Business Development Director Ken Coleman said the Springfield-based company already is on a hiring trend.
“We have more people on staff right now than then we have ever had,” he said, noting Killian currently has 80 employees, but the number changes weekly. “I expect to see our workforce double within the next few years.”
Coleman said the company has hired 30 employees within the past 45 days, with foreman positions being a continued need.
The Springfield branch of Las Vegas-based Labor Max Staffing already has begun to meet additional requests for construction workers. Account Manager Bo Blackman said the workflow demand is typical as the weather heats up, but he expects to see a higher-than-normal need in the next few months.
“We sent out 52 guys lasts Friday, the majority in construction and special trades,” he said. “A lot more requests for workers have been coming in lately. Typically, we get two or three calls for multiple workers a week, but lately, we have had around seven or eight.”
However, hiring demands haven’t swung into the SCA office yet. Pairing workers on file with contractors in need of laborers, SCA Employment Director Kathy Baer said SCA referral numbers are down in recent months, a problem she believes is indicative of a scattered workforce.
“When the recession hit and the construction industry declined, a lot of workers got disheartened with the industry here and left to find other work,” she said. “People might consider coming back now when we need them, but nobody will fault them for having to make a living in the meantime.”
Baer said she questions if area contractors will be able to fill the need when business begins to boom.
“I hope so, but I’m not convinced,” she said, adding the sudden building boom might be too much to handle at once. “However, if we can get a timeline in place through this forum, it can be manageable. It’s going to take planning.”
Nationwide the construction industry added 7,000 jobs in May as the construction unemployment rate dipped to 10.8 percent, down from 13.2 percent in April and the lowest rate since October 2008, according to the U.S. Labor Department. Since May 2012, the industry added 189,000 jobs, a 3.4 percent increase.
Despite gains in every other construction sector, the nonresidential building sector lost 2,600 jobs in May, according to a report from the Associated Builders and Contractors. Year-over-year, the sector grew by 15,300 jobs, or 2.3 percent. Nonresidential specialty trade contractors added 1,200 jobs in May and netted 51,600 workers nationwide, up 2.5 percent from the same time last year.
In contrast, the residential sector added 900 jobs for the month and 18,100 jobs, or 3.2 percent, during the last year, the ABC report said. Residential specialty trade contractors added 4,600 workers for the month and 76,300 workers, or 5.2 percent, on a year-over-year basis.
“Much of the growth in construction continues to be in residential building, as indicated in the addition of 76,300 residential specialty trade contractors during the past year,” ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu said, in the report. “Last month, that sector added 4,600 jobs, representing nearly two-thirds of total construction growth.
“The trend toward elevated temporary hiring is likely to continue during the next several months as many employers learn more about the implication of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act on their future health care costs.”
Locally, Coleman said Killian and other area contractors will be prepared.
“There is no doubt we will have to hire, but as the jobs come, so will the workers,” he said.
