LAKE MILLS, IA - It's a sign the economy may be turning around. Residential and commercial builders are expecting to hire more workers in 2011.
Last year 36 states lost construction jobs as the industry shrank by 93,000 employees. This year, more than a quarter of construction companies nationwide say they're looking to hire, and that includes at least one in our area.
Larson Contracting in Lake Mills and Albert Lea says the number of construction jobs scheduled for this year is already ahead of where it was last year. With the added work they're looking to increase employees, and they're not the only company doing so.
"2006 and 2007 were some pretty good years for us and since then we've probably seen a 3 to 5 percent decline," said Justin Peterson, owner of Larson Contracting.
Peterson says while things have been slow the past few years, 2011 is looking up.
"This year things are looking forward there's a lot of prospects out there lot of interest in jobs," said Peterson.
Construction companies in Iowa are hiring the most. The Associated General Contractors of America (AGCA) says 45 percent of Iowa construction companies will add workers this year mostly due to large amounts of projects.
"There's a lot of state funded projects out there right now to help municipalities and other places, also schools we've built a couple schools over the last two three years here," said Peterson.
In Minnesota only about a quarter of construction firms plan to add staff while about 20 percent will let workers go.
“Right now we probably have about four or five large projects which will start as soon as we can get in the ground,” said Milo Lien, sales manager.
Lien says the number of private construction projects in both Iowa and Minnesota is on the rise as well.
"2011 we've seen a very big interest in agriculture related buildings whether it be farmers or implement shops that type of thing," said Lien.
And while the number of companies that plan to add workers isn't overwhelming, Peterson says it's a start.
"Obviously we have a few that get laid off in the winter time because of our seasonal work and we'll be calling a lot of them back and maybe some additional more," said Peterson.
Historically when general contracting companies begin to see increases in work demands that's usually a good sign the rest of the economy is improving.
Subcontractors like plumbers and electricians are also seeing a benefit. With new buildings going up that creates more work for them too.
The AGCA says while 2011 is showing an improvement, most contractors don't expect the industry to fully recover until at least next year.
