Amid Building Boom, New York City's Construction Labor Pool Is Shrinking

A Construction Site In Downtown Manhattan In New York.

Construction in New York shows no signs of slowing down, but the industry's labor shortage is worsening at the same time.

The number of workers employed in the construction industry across the five boroughs decreased by 1% from 2015 to 2016, according to a New York Building Congress report based on U.S. census data. Construction spending hit an all-time high in 2016 as well, and even set the record for inflation-adjusted spending since at least 1995.

Though 2017 saw a dip in construction, the NYBC predicts 2018 and 2019 to see spending rise back to 2016 levels. If labor continues to get more scarce as demand increases, spending could rise even higher as developers compete for the shrinking labor pool.

As it shrinks, the construction workforce in New York also appears to be getting less diverse. The number of workers who identify as Hispanic decreased from 95,874 to 88,788 from 2015 to 2016, while the number of white workers increased from 95,841 to 100,326. The number of female workers in the construction industry was flat over that same time period.

“While we have made real strides towards a more inclusive and diverse workforce, we still have work to do recruiting and mentoring women and minorities for successful careers in design and construction,” NYBC President and CEO Carlo Scissura said.

With the data collected from the last full year without Donald Trump as president, it remains to be seen what effect his anti-immigration policies and an emboldened U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement department could have. ICE arrests in New York City more than doubled from 2016 to 2017, though what percentage of those arrests were construction workers is unknown.

New York's construction industry is heavily dependent on immigrant labor, with non-citizens making up over 63% of respondents that volunteered their citizenship status and 40% of total respondents declining to provide their status. The first true measure of Trump's effect on the construction labor pool will come in a year's time.

Continue reading this story with a free account

Log in or register
Sign up for more articles like this
Subscribe to Bisnow's New York Newsletters
Related Stories

Yardi-Backed Flex Office Marketplace Launches In U.S. As Companies Plan To Up Attendance

Jeffrey Soffer, Aventura Sued By Condo Owners For Pushing Yacht Club Project

Comcast Consolidates To 140K SF In Times Square

Orders To Vacate On The Rise, Leaving Tenants With No Home, No Timeline

HUD Withholds Voucher Funding, Pushing Landlords, Tenants To The Brink

Snapchat Parent Snags 200K SF Sublease At Penn 2: The N.Y. Deal Sheet

Ken Griffin, Vornado Near Record $3.3B Loan For Park Avenue Supertall

Alexandria Warns $183M Loss On Table In Legal Battle Against NYC

Inspectors, Building Officials Shrug Off Conversion Scares

Jams Moving HQ To Times Square From New York Times Building

Rent Freeze Heightens Loss Risk For $506M CMBS Loan

How Long Island Projects Can Cut Through Red Tape And Community Opposition To Cross The Finish Line