The Construction Industries’ Workforce – Numbers and Generational Composition
In 2017 the Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS) reported the total number of workers who were 16 and older to be 153,337,000, and of that number 10,692,000 or 7% were in the construction industry. In 2018 the Pew Research Center (Pew) preliminarily described Post – Millennials as those born in 1997 and beyond thereby giving them an age range from 6-21 years, but for the purpose of this report I will only include those of working age or 16-21 years old. The other generations are as follows: Millennials, ages 22 – 37; GenX, ages 38 – 53; and Baby Boomers, ages 54 – 72.
When taking the BLS data and combining it with the Pew specified categories for each generation we see that of the reported 7%, Post – Millennials accounted for 195,000 workers or 1.8%; Millennials accounted for 3,174,000 or 29.6%; while GenX had the largest number at 5,070,000 or 47.3%; and Baby Boomers came in at 2,253,000 workers or 20.8%.
Based on these numbers we can conclude that our greatest number of workers in the construction industry are currently our GenX population; those workers who have more than likely committed to their chosen profession and employer, but who are also slated to be the next large population of retirees (along with the 2.2 million Baby Boomers). But what about the 3.1million Millennials and those younger (Post Millennials) who have yet to decide what they want to do, where they want to work, and for whom? This population of employees need to have a voice and our industry must listen to their needs.
Industry specific research, strategic planning, and individualized coaching services give the construction industry insights into what this up and coming workforce requires in order to become a valuable and loyal employee.
“Let’s Build America!”