Report predicts boom in jobs for construction

Knowing how to swing a hammer or use a drill could give you a step up in the northeast Kansas job market.

The Kansas Department of Human Resources recently released its Occupational Outlook Report, which predicts which industries will grow and shrink through 2008. It estimates the construction industry in northeast Kansas will experience the highest growth rate during the next six years.

The construction industry is expected to grow in the 17-county area, which includes Douglas County, by 23.1 percent. Construction edges out the service industry, which is expected to grow by 22.6 percent.

The outlook also predicts strong growth rates for highly trained computer workers and retail trade employees. In the northeast region, only agriculture is expected to decline. The agriculture industry is expected to shrink by 14.5 percent, about 1,400 workers, by 2008.

Building a career

The report didn’t surprise many in the construction business.

James Cottrell, business manager for the Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 763, said unions representing the Lawrence building trades recently completed a market study that found the future demand for construction jobs to be high as well.

“What really opened my eyes was that this study suggested that by 2025 nearly half of the state’s population will be residing in the 10 counties along the Kansas River,” Cottrell said. “If that happens, you are going to have to see the construction industry take a pretty big jump around here. It would be a really booming time.”

Whether the industry will be able to keep up with the expected demand is the issue many people are wondering about.

“It seems like the construction industry is going to grow, but I’m seeing less people who want to get into it and that could be a problem,” said Jeff Haney, a construction supervisor with Lawrence’s Mar Lan Construction. “It seems like everybody wants to be behind a desk.”

Tracy Green, president of Lawrence’s B.A. Green Construction, agreed.

“Twenty years ago when my dad and uncles were working in the business, you had employees working for you who had chosen construction as their career, but now you sometimes wonder if some of these young guys aren’t just in it temporarily until they find something else to do.

“It’s hard work and you are out in the elements a lot. So if a job presents itself to a young man where he’ll have a cool place in the summer and a warm place in the winter, a lot of them are going to jump at that.”

However, Cottrell said the tide might be turning somewhat when it came to attracting workers. He said applications at the plumbers and pipefitters union slowly have been increasing.

“I think we’re seeing more and more people who realize that being behind a desk isn’t for them,” Cottrell said. “And they’re also starting to see that the pay is there.”

Cottrell said the starting hourly wage for a journeymen plumber or pipefitter was $25.94 plus benefits. Apprentice plumbers and pipefitters make anywhere from 50 percent to 85 percent of that wage.

Green said other types of construction jobs typically range in pay from $10 an hour to more than $20 an hour.

Haney said the industry needed to do a better job of reminding people about the benefits of the job.

“It is kind of like having a different job every eight or 10 months,” Haney said. “When you get a new set of plans to build, it kind of rejuvenates you. You’re still working for the same company, but the scenery changes.”

Other jobs in demand

But if the thought of running a circular saw has your head spinning, the outlook shows there are several other promising career options in the Northeast region.

“Probably the biggest thing we see is that there will continue to be good demand for people with computer-related skills,” said Mark Barcellina, a research analyst with KDHR. “But one of the things we’re seeing is that you really need to go ahead and obtain those high-level skills rather than just data-entry type of training because that sort of work is expected to decline.”

No specific numbers for the Northeast region were available, but statewide data entry and other clerical jobs are expected to decline by about 27 percent.

“What has happened is the capacity of the software has increased so much that the number of people needed to do clerical work has declined,” Barcellina said.

The report suggests people looking to work with computers would be better off becoming a systems analyst, a person who designs computer systems, or a computer support specialist, a person who troubleshoots computer problems for companies. Those two professions are projected to be the fastest-growing in Northeast Kansas, with a growth rate of 70 percent for systems analysts and 64.5 percent for computer support specialists.

But just because a profession has a fast growth rate doesn’t mean it will be the easiest to get. For example, although system analysts are projected to increase by a 70 percent rate, that only means 550 new jobs in the Northeast region by 2008.

For someone looking for a job that is high in demand, the report suggests cashiers. In the Northeast region, the report expects 1,750 cashier positions will be added by 2008. That slightly beats out retail sales assistants, which will add 1,440 jobs.

“All things considered, those jobs shouldn’t be too hard to find,” Barcellina said. “That should be especially true in Northeast Kansas because as the population grows, there will be more restaurants, more retail outlets and more gas stations that will need that type of help.”

The report also shows which occupations are expected to decline the most. In Northeast Kansas, four of the top five were related to agriculture. Bank teller was the other occupation that was expected to decline.

The report predicts the number of bank tellers will decrease by about 4 percent in the region, which means a loss of about 50 jobs.

“That just continues a trend we’ve seen for awhile as more people use ATMs or bank via the Internet,” Barcellina said.

 Business editor Chad Lawhorn can be reached at 832-6362.

Obtaining an outlook

People interested in viewing the Kansas Department of Human Resources latest Occupational Outlook can request a copy by calling (785) 296-5058. The outlook also is expected to be available online within the next two months. The Web address will be http://laborstats.hr.state.ks.us