Simonson Says: If They Come (and Stay), Will You Build It?

The United States remains a field of dreams for many immigrants. If Congress and the White House can enact a new immigration law that allows millions of individuals who are already here to stay and permits easier legal entry for more who want to work here, what will the implications be for construction? First, the industry will gain access to workers with a range of skill levels just when demand for them is growing. Construction employment has grown by almost 300,000 in the two years since it bottomed out in January 2011. True, there were still more than 1.3 million former construction workers seeking work in January 2013, according to data released on February 1 by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, but that number had shrunk by 550,000 in the past two years to the lowest January total since 2008. Meanwhile, construction spending has increased 18 percent from January 2011 to December 2012, according to Census Bureau figures also released on February 1. Further growth in at least the next few months seems almost certain, based on the strong rise in single- and multifamily building permits and starts that Census reported in January and rising starts reported by McGraw-Hill Construction and Reed Construction Data. Until now, contractors have been able to increase the volume of work with only 5 percent more employees by paying for more hours of work. But by later this year, employment is likely to rise much more quickly—if the industry can find workers with the right skills. An increase in legal residency status will allow millions of workers to become homeowners. That should boost demand for single-family construction. More children of immigrants will come to the U.S. or be born here, adding to demand for classrooms. Demand for retail and consumer-related construction will also go up. Thus, legalization of immigrant residents and easier immigration for would-be workers will pay a double dividend for construction by adding both to the pool of available workers and to demand for structures.