Philadelphia area construction companies will need to recruit 9,188 more workers in 2023 in addition to the normal pace of hiring. This forecast is a per capita estimate based on research from Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC).  

The frenetic pace of recruiting construction workers in Philadelphia is expected to extend into 2024, with an incremental 5,452 workers needed next year, as well, in addition to the normal pace of hiring.

Overall, the demand for construction workers in America has been increasing at an epic rate.

According to ABC, the construction industry averaged more than 390,000 job openings per month in 2022, the highest level on record, and the industry unemployment rate of 4.6% in 2022 was the second lowest on record, higher than only the 4.5% unemployment rate observed in 2019. In addition, national payroll construction employment was 231,000 higher in December 2022 than in December 2021.

Right now, filling open jobs at any Philadelphia company is a struggle.

A recent survey by the National Federation of Independent Business Owners found that after inflation, the most critical problem facing these businesses is the inability to recruit and retain quality employees.

Right now, says the Federal Reserve,  unfilled jobs remain near an all-time with 1.7 openings per unemployed person.  As a result, only one person is being hired per every four job openings.  To put this dismal hire-to-opening ratio in perspective, ten years ago, there was one hire per every job opening.

Compounding the recruitment woes of Philadelphia's small business owners is the very stubborn quit rate.  According to the Federal Reserve, for every ten hires made, seven current employees quit. 

So, how can local builders and contractors fill the open jobs at their companies? Most metrics indicate that advertising on Philadelphia Radio may be the best way.

230,328 Philadelphia area companies fit the description of being a small business, according to the US Census Bureau.  A recent survey by the National Federation of Independent Business Owners found that after inflation, the most critical problem facing these businesses is the inability to recruit and retain quality employees.

Right now, says the Federal Reserve,  unfilled jobs remain near an all-time with 1.7 openings per unemployed person.  As a result, only one person is being hired per every four job openings.  To put this dismal hire-to-opening ratio in perspective, ten years ago, there was one hire per every job opening.

Compounding the recruitment woes of Philadelphia's small business owners is the very stubborn quit rate.  According to the Federal Reserve, for every ten hires made, seven current employees quit. 

Although the labor crunch affects Philadelphia business owners of every size, nearly half of all job vacancies are at companies with fewer than 50 employees.

So what is the best way for local small business owners to attract qualified candidates to fill open jobs?  Most metrics indicate that advertising on Philadelphia radio may be the optimal choice.

Construction companies in the Delaware Valley will need to recruit 10,827 blue-collar workers on top of the normal pace of hiring in 2022 to meet the demands of the current building market. These statistics are based on forecasts from Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc. (ABC), an association comprised primarily of U.S. firms that work in industrial and commercial construction sectors.

"The construction industry desperately needs qualified, skilled craft professionals to build America," said Michael Bellaman, ABC president and CEO. "The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed in November and stimulus from COVID-19 relief will pump billions in new spending into our nation's most critical infrastructure, and qualified craft professionals are essential to efficiently modernize roads, bridges, energy production, and other projects across the country. More regulations and less worker freedom make it harder to fill these jobs."

The construction industry's appetite for new hires in the Philadelphia area will continue into 2023, according to ABC. It is expected that during that year,  an additional 9,827 blue-collar workers in addition to the normal pace of hiring.

According to the US Census Bureau, there are 237,655 businesses in the Philadelphia area. Some of these companies are small. Some are large. Some sell machine parts. Some sell software. Some provide legal services. Some provide eyecare.

Regardless of the size of the business or what it sells, all of these local companies have one thing in common: they are struggling to fill open jobs with qualified candidates. This is true in Philadelphia as well as Cherry Hill, Bucks County, King of Prussia, Camden, and every point in between.

Right now, across the country, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are 10.9 million open jobs. This is an all-time record.

To put this mammoth number of open jobs in perspective, the Federal Reserve says there are now five job openings per every four unemployed people.

Attempting to recruit Philadelphia workers from the ranks of the unemployed has proven fruitless for local companies. This is because many people who lost their jobs during the pandemic have no intention of returning to the workforce anytime soon.

There are several reasons so many Philadelphia workers are not coming back.

First, older workers have opted to retire earlier than expected. Second, childcare issues are making it necessary for some parents to stay home. Third, other workers cite health safety issues for the reason why they chose not to work. Finally, some of the unemployed are choosing to live off the savings they amassed during the pandemic.

So rather than focusing recruitment efforts among former employees and the ranks of the unemployed, local business owners need to target the 2.1 million passive job seekers in Philadelphia.

The number of job openings in the Philadelphia area has exceeded pre-pandemic levels, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  Businesses of all sizes are adding employees in a big way, according to the ADP Research Institute, but still, large numbers of positions remain unfilled.

With the Pennsylvania unemployment rate still at 7.3%, Philadelphia business owners wonder why they are having difficulty attracting applicants for open positions.

According to a recent article posted in The Economist, there are two major reasons why many sidelined workers aren't anxious to come to work. The first is fear.

Over 96% of Delaware Valley adults have access to the internet, according to Nielsen. Nearly 70% of these consumers spend more than five hours a week connected.

Nielsen reports that Philadelphia area consumers go online to stay connected to friends and family; research products and services; learn the latest news, and obtain directions to where they are going and know what the weather will be when they get there.  

Here are some of the many reasons why Philadelphia area internet users go online each month

• Social Media: 79%
• Weather: 58%
• Online Banking: 55%
• Maps/Directions: 52%
• Product Reviews: 48%
• Current Events: 39%
• Restaurant Reviews: 34%
• Sports Scores/News: 30%
• Job Search: 22%
• Real Estate: 16%

And, of course, there is shopping.  Over the past six months, according to Nielsen, 81.3% of Philadelphia consumers shopped online for every imaginable product and service including, cars, golf clubs, office supplies, wedding rings, mattresses, tires, medicine, shoes, socks, and eyeglasses.

To reach local consumers while they are online, Philadelphia business owners will spend $1.3 billion for digital advertising in 2020, according to Borrell Associates.  Here is how the money is being spent:

In January, Delaware Valley small business owners were in a panic. The unemployment rate was at a record low 3.4%, and there were not enough workers to fill their open jobs. 

As of today, though, Pennsylvania is reporting that at least one-in-four of the state's workforce have lost their jobs for COVID-19 related reasons. Yet, many small business owners are still struggling to find employees.

According to The Wall Street Journal, "For some workers, unemployment benefits are now paying more than their old jobs did. For others, safety concerns or a lack of child care, as most schools and day-care centers remain closed, are making them hesitant to go back."

“That’s going to get in the way of any real recovery,” Douglas Holtz-Eakin, president of American Action Forum and former director of the Congressional Budget Office, told WSJ.

The struggle to hire employees creates an additional threat for those Delaware Valley small business owners who received loans under the SBA's Paycheck Protection Program.  

To qualify for the loan forgiveness provision of the PPP, business owners must restore its workforce to pre-Coronavirus levels. This must be accomplished within eight weeks of receiving the monies.

So, just like in January, local small business owners are under pressure to fill open jobs. Advertising on Philadelphia radio is a potent way to attract and hire the needed employees.

Advertising is critical to the success of every Delaware Valley small business owner.  One of the most powerful elements of any advertising campaign is how many people it reaches.

Nielsen, the world's largest consumer insights company, found that advertising reach has a more significant effect on sales than branding, recency, and context.

There are many ways a local business owner can advertise. This includes traditional media like Philadelphia radio, local TV, and newspaper. It also includes online advertising options such as Facebook, Instagram, and Pandora.

They type of customer an individual business needs to reach depends on the goods and services the company sells. For instance, a daycare operator might want to reach households with young children. On the other hand, a real estate agent could be looking for consumers in the market to purchase a new home.

Nolan Painting is, by definition, a small business. But, this Havertown based company with 125 employees has grown to be the largest residential painting company in the United States.

For a local contractor to become that large is especially remarkable when the company only paints homes in Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery Counties.  This year, according to April Torrisi, Nolan Painting's Marketing Manager, "we are on track to do $12,000,000 in sales."

"Our company's founder, Kevin Nolan, has a goal of increasing sales by $1,000,000 every year," says Ms. Torrisi, "To add that much revenue we always need to find and hire more painters.  Recruitment advertising on Philadelphia radio is a powerful tool to help us stay fully staffed."

According to Ms. Torrisi, hiring qualified candidates is so vital to achieving the company's aggressive growth goals, that Nolan Painting invests 1.5% of total revenue back into recruitment advertising. This is on top of the 4% committed to traditional brand advertising.