Skilled Trade Labor Shortage & Long-term Labor Risk

Labor risk and disaster recovery

In a previous blog, Adjusting for Risk in Your Estimates, I mentioned that labor risk is where the labor of a job incurs the most risk. The higher percentage of labor for the job, the riskier the job is. There is a more long-term risk to labor and the recent challenges presented by COVID-19 have only made it worse.

Demand for electricians

The nation has been experiencing a shortage of electricians for many years now. The demand for electricians has caused the pay scales to rise and the US Bureau of Labor Statistics predicting a 14% growth for electricians between 2014 and 2024.

You need to be aware of this when bidding jobs that will start over the next 12 months. The pay rates you use in your bids today, might not be enough to cover the labor for construction projects that occur during this time. You might want to factor in some potential increases in your labor rate to cover any run on labor that may occur.

Planning for the long-term

I know what you’re thinking. If you raise the rates in your estimates now, you won’t win as many jobs. Yes, that’s probably true, but consider this; When the demand for electricians are higher, the demand for electrical contracting will also increase. This means less competition for construction projects. While your competitors have bid and won numerous jobs that commit their labor force at the lower rates, if you raise your labor rates now, you’ll eventually begin to win jobs at higher rates.

If you think this is gouging, it’s not. As an electrical contractor, you must cover your costs and make decisions based on changes in industry. Raise the rates in your bids now so you can retain your workforce over the next year.