The Dallas-Fort Worth area has high demand for residential and commercial building projects, but the pace of growth is being affected by the labor shortage—the city needs about 20,000 more construction workers to keep up with the work available, according to texashillcountry.com.
"More than 92 percent of our members cite the lack of labor as having a significant impact on their business," Phil Crone, head of the Dallas Builders Association, told Dallas News. "In most cases that's adding a month and more than $5,000 to every home built in our area."
The city's construction workforce has never bounced back from the recession. NBC DFW says some builders point to immigration issues as part of the current problem and hope to appeal to the government for a better visa program. Builders report the labor shortage is so extreme that contractors will drive to other construction sites and offer to pay workers more to get them to leave that site for their own projects.
To try to help address the problem, the Dallas Builders Association hopes to encourage schools to offer shop classes to introduce young people to the building trades and hopefully create more workers.
"More than 92 percent of our members cite the lack of labor as having a significant impact on their business," Phil Crone, head of the Dallas Builders Association, told Dallas News. "In most cases that's adding a month and more than $5,000 to every home built in our area."
The city's construction workforce has never bounced back from the recession. NBC DFW says some builders point to immigration issues as part of the current problem and hope to appeal to the government for a better visa program. Builders report the labor shortage is so extreme that contractors will drive to other construction sites and offer to pay workers more to get them to leave that site for their own projects.
To try to help address the problem, the Dallas Builders Association hopes to encourage schools to offer shop classes to introduce young people to the building trades and hopefully create more workers.
