Increasing workforce shortages and declines in infrastructure spending clouded an otherwise upbeat economic picture for the nearly 2,800 attendees at the Associated General Contractors of America convention in Las Vegas earlier this month.
AGC economist Ken Simonson told attendees he sees workforce shortages increasing, up to 49% below critical levels in some regions. He forecasts 4% to 8% growth for non-residential construction, citing year-over-year double-digit increases in every major sector other than public construction, which dipped 2.5%.