It’s been tough to fill jobs in the construction industry in Durango, and it’s getting harder.
As the economy recovered from the recession, the demand for new homes and commercial buildings picked up, but the number of people working in trades such as carpentry, drywall and concrete hasn’t returned to the same level.
“People left the construction industry, and they never came back,” said Mike Foutz, vice president of FCI Constructors Inc.
In some cases, there might be some hesitancy to hire and train as many people as currently needed because it is unclear if the high demand for housing will last.
“It’s been some years since the market turned down, but we still remember it vividly,” said Emil Wanatka, president of Timberline Builders.
While the industry labor force is rebuilding, it’s a slow process, said Lisa Laughlin, executive officer of the Home Builders Association of Southwest Colorado.
As demand has recovered, so have wages, but it’s difficult to say how much this is contributing to the overall price of housing, because there are so many other factors that contribute, including land prices, materials and regulations, Wanatka said.
“I don’t think there is any one thing that’s the culprit for increased home prices,” he said.
In Durango, the median home price during the second quarter of 2015 was $440,000, up about 10 percent from the same period last year.
Greater supply could help temper these costs.
Timberline Builders is currently working on about 300 housing units, including a 101-unit apartment complex in Three Springs. To get the projects done, the company has had to bring in subcontractors from out of town and out of state, Wanatka said.
Sachs Construction, which does both residential and commercial projects, has also been busier this year than in the recent past and has experienced a labor shortage, said Rob Sachs, president of the company.
“The amount of truly skilled tradesmen is far below what we really need right now,” he said.
In addition, fewer subcontractors and general contractors are willing to bid on projects because they are already so busy, he said.
This is forcing prices higher, he said.
Smaller builders have had similar problems.
Josh Martin, who owns Martin Built Homes, said the problem is gradually getting worse.
“I’ve had to turn down jobs because of my (inability) to find good help,” he said.
To fill positions, he was picking up three workers who did not have driver’s licenses.
He sees room to increase construction-industry wages because they are on par with what they were about 10 years ago.
He will pay an unexperienced person about $10 to $15 an hour. A skilled laborer can make between $25 and $35 per hour, he said.
Higher wages could also help attract more young people, some local builders said.
“They need to be paid a fair wage and need to be able to make a living,” Foutz said.
The labor shortage isn’t isolated to the construction industry. In fact, finding qualified employees is the No. 1 challenge facing businesses in the county this year, said Roger Zalneraitis, executive director of the La Plata County Economic Development Alliance.
From 2012 to 2015, the labor force in La Plata County has fallen by about 600 people, to a little more than 30,000 people, according to the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment.
While the demand for homes in Durango is high, the numbers show people in the labor force aren’t purchasing them, Zalneraitis said.
“More and more people are commuting into Durango, and they are commuting from farther away,” he said.
mshinn@durangoherald.com
