More Construction Professionals Are Looking for Work. GCs Still Can't Hire.

Here's the contradiction nobody seems to want to talk about.

Manufacturing construction spending is down almost 20% from a year ago. Commercial starts fell 18% in September. Residential spending is down nearly 5%, and builders don't expect a recovery while mortgage rates stay where they are.

That should mean a flood of available superintendents and project managers.

Instead, the GCs we work with are still telling us the same thing they told us last year. The right people are hard to find.

Both can be true because the people and the work are in different places.

The superintendent who just finished a 300 unit apartment project is available. The general contractor building a hospital addition two states away needs someone who has run an occupied healthcare job, with infection control, phasing and a facilities team watching every move. On paper they're both superintendents. In the hiring manager's mind, they're not the same hire.

Construction doesn't have a headcount problem right now. It has a match problem. Talent sits in the sectors that are slowing, and the work sits in the sectors that are growing, and very few companies are willing to bridge the gap.

Some will. A strong multifamily superintendent who can run a schedule, manage subs and keep an owner calm has most of what a commercial job needs. The question is whether the hiring team will teach the rest.

Would you hire a great residential or multifamily superintendent for a commercial project, or is that a risk your team won't take?

Hiring a superintendent, project manager or estimator? Start your search with BLDR