Stimulus to Fund 1.6 Million Jobs: Is Your Staffing Ready?

By Leonard Toenjes

Q: We’re having a debate internally about the effect of the federal stimulus dollars on the workforce. There is little argument now: We have had to lay off some people because of a lack of jobs. But we do road construction, and Illinois and Missouri and other Midwest states are each going to get hundreds of millions of dollars for road and similar projects soon. Do you think there will be a shortage of workers down the line a couple of months to staff these projects? I think so. That’s why I think we should start soliciting for increased trades staff to meet the demand.

A: The impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act on workforce demand has been so politicized and hyped that it is difficult to cut through the hyperbole and get to the facts. In looking through a variety of sources, I have been able to put together some economic information that could provide some guidance concerning the workers needed for the near term projects.

The amounts of transportation work for both Illinois (approximately $935,000,000) and Missouri ($637,000,000), and all states have been delineated by the Federal Highway Administration in accordance with in the ARRA bill. The allocations are further broken down for various sizes of metropolitan areas.

Checking with your local transportation related association (AGC or ARTBA) or your local DOT should give you access to these numbers.

Nationwide calculations show that the approximately $150 billion in infrastructure projects should produce approximately 1.6 million jobs. What does that mean?

530,000 Jobs in Illinois, Missouri

The 1.6 million jobs are actually 1.6 million job-years. In essence, the number of jobs can be divided by the number of years over which the funds will be spent to come up with an estimate of the total workforce needs.

In this example, if the $150 billion in funds are spent over three years, the approximately workforce needs will people to fill 530,000 jobs.

Another set of numbers shows that since January 2007, the construction industry has lost approximately 1,000,000 jobs. Unemployment in the construction industry as of March 2009 exceeds 20%.

Concerning your solicitations for workers, I believe there are a significant number of incumbent construction workers who are unemployed or underemployed to fill many if not all of the jobs that will be created by the ARRA.

At the same time, it is not easy to take a residential craftworker and convert him or her to a bridge builder. Many craftworkers may have found interim employment elsewhere.

Soliciting for increased trades staff should be focused on individuals who have the specific skills needed for the types of work included in the ARRA and who are available to work in the geographic locations defined by the ARRA. You are in a spot that allows some selectivity as long as you have done your local homework.

Clearly defining the skills you are looking for prior to contacting local workforce providers should pay dividends when you are ready to get your “shovel ready” work going.