Labor and Material Shortage: What's Going On?
A labor and material shortage, what does this mean to you? If you are not an employer, you may not see the effects immediately with the labor shortage. However, with a material shortage, it can become noticeable in the worst timing. For example, you need to get a new roof immediately and it will be delayed because of the lack of materials and workers available.
What's Going On?
As many of you know, there is a current labor and material shortage. Why did the labor shortage start? Well, the demographic of workers is constantly changing. This includes workers aging and retiring, with no one to replace them. Employers have jobs that need to be filled, but there are less people looking for work.
In addition to this, there was also a pandemic that is still ongoing. The pandemic caused a lot of companies to lay off workers. When things started to open back up and companies were inviting employees back or hiring new people, the employees had a choice. Do they return to their old job or find something new? This was an opportunity for many to discover what their true passion is and change career paths. To make the jobs more desirable, employers have raised wages and even included more benefits. Even though this helps bring people to the job, there is an issue with companies keeping employees. With this, companies are spending more money and resources on training employees. It helps keep the current employees and prepare the new hire for the job ahead of them.
How it Affects Roofing
As for the material shortage, the most cited material is lumber. This affects all aspects of construction, including roofing. It will continue to affect the industry and take years to recover. This is caused by repairs and replacements having to be delayed. The delays can be due to lack of materials or lack of workers. Also, many companies needing repairs or replacements are holding off and putting the money elsewhere. This will all cause infrastructure to fall behind.
There have been talks about how to solve these problems in regards to labor. The most common is to push to diversify the industry even more. This includes having women take roles in field positions. A majority of women in construction are in administrative positions. There are also programs in place to help past incarcerated people develop skills for the construction industry. The skills taught are highly sought after and allows them to fill the job gap.
Even with the labor and material shortage, Royalty has the resources to help with any roof repairs or replacements. Don't put it off since the issues will only get worse as time goes on. Call 800-303-8392 today to schedule a free estimate or fill out the form below.