Insider Only News Commercial Real Estate Statewide News

With tight labor market, Delaware contractors need new talent

June 18, 2025 |By Katie Tabeling

June25_WEB-construction_ktabeling — With fewer construction job openings in Delaware, construction companies are looking at how do they train the next generation of workers amid a rough economic landscape. | DBT PHOTO BY KATIE TABELING

Already a subscriber? Log in

To continue reading this article ...

Subscribe to Delaware Business Times right now and get access to subscriber-only content like this article.

- Advertisement -

Plus get 24 issues of DBT via print or digital, special bonus issues, and discounted registration for our in-person events.

Learn More and Subscribe Today

– Digital Partners -

DOVER — Construction companies continue to slowly add jobs in Delaware amid the whirlpool of economic uncertainty, but there’s greater concerns about maintaining a pipeline of workers soon. Delaware has remained steady at 24,500 construction jobs, according to preliminary data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The sector has added roughly 1,000 jobs since the COVID-19 pandemic started with a steady rise over the years.  Part of that can be traced to the explosive housing boom in Sussex County, according to Associated General Contractors of America Chief Economist Ken Simonson. But looking at other national economic indicators, there are fewer job openings in April than there were a year ago and low levels of layoffs for small contractors. In Delaware, the BLS data shows that there have been peaks and valleys of 800 jobs from 2024 to April 2025, the most recent data available. “That to me suggests that contractors want to hang on to the workers they have, presumably because they expect the volume of work to pick up in a few months, even if they’re not hiring or advertising,” Simonson told the Delaware Business Times.  Trade tensions have also made building materials prices volatile between imported lumber prices expected to double this fall and steel and aluminum tariffs doubled earlier this month. But with construction firms pre-buy materials, it’s making it difficult to predict when the stockpile would end and then trickle down to construction sites. Here in Delaware, the local chapter of the Associated Builders and Contractors has found the tariff talk had set its members on edge, but it has adjusted to the new normal – and leaders are now turning to in-state issues. “Tariffs have now become a ping pong topic. What is more concerning is how unpredictable the costs for heavy civic contractors,” ABC Delaware President Jen Cohan said. Those contractors bid to work on the millions of dollars in state highway projects overseen by the Department of Transportation. This year, state officials have been working with the possibility of deep federal funding cuts as well as slow revenue growth, including in the Transportation Trust Fund which accounts for gas tax, tolls and registration fees and pays for infrastructure projects. “Those contractors see the writing on the wall that revenue for all categories is going down, as well as maintenance contracts which you can see in the Bond Bill. Contractors are still doing projects, but it’s not sustainable,” Cohan added. That, coupled with unpredictable costs, mean that it’s possible for-profit margins to get thinner and Delaware big contractors are more cautious on bidding on new projects.  With construction now one of the fastest growing industries in Delaware, Cohan said she’s more concerned about the labor shortage, particularly with the low ratio of apprenticeships to shops. She’s been encouraged by Delaware students’ interest in the trades through the pathways program. “By the time students reach high school they already know what they want to do. We’ve been working with the governor on a pilot program for apprenticeships, and there’s been some progress there,” she said.