Construction labor crisis: Employment expert sees solution abroad to help fill half-million gap

The construction industry needs workers. A lot of them.

Construction firms in Texas and elsewhere will need to attract 546,000 additional workers on top of the normal pace of hiring pace in 2023 to meet the demand for new homes, hospitals and infrastructure projects like airports, highways and transit systems.

John Dorer, CEO at eb3.work, is a global employment expert who sees an underutilized worker visa program as a key part of the solution. Dorer’s company provides green card solutions for U.S. companies and foreign national workers. EB-3 is a visa that allows companies to sponsor legally approved immigrants who want to work in America permanently.

OTHER KEY NUMBERS

374,000 – Shortage of construction workers in June (most recent month), according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

342,000 – New construction workers needed to meet demand in 2024 on top of normal hiring, according to Associated Builders and Contactors.

1.5 million – The shortage of homes in the U.S., according to the Home Builders Institute.