Kansas construction companies expect a great year in 2016

Kansas construction companies expect to see a lot of work and hire a lot of workers in 2016, according to the results of a national survey released Wednesday.

Overall, more than half of contractors in a survey by Associated General Contractors of America said they expected to see more work this year compared with last year — and 2015 was a very good year.

They said sectors seeing the greatest demand for new construction are retail and warehousing, private office buildings, public building, manufacturing, higher education and hospitals.

Most government construction will be flat or down, including highways, water and sewer lines, schools and any federal work, they said.

The large majority foresaw the number of employees at their companies rising by up to 25 percent, with a minority seeing even stronger hiring.

Their biggest problem is finding those employees. The vast majority reported having trouble finding adequate salaried professionals and skilled hourly workers in 2015 — something they expect to remain just as difficult – or even grow worse – despite increasing worker pay, benefits and bonuses.

That’s something that Gregg Oblinger, executive vice president for Simpson Construction Services in Wichita, agrees with.

The company has about 50 workers, and he said he can see another five hires in the coming year. But the problem of finding trained workers, he said, is growing acute enough that it may start affecting whether a company can accept some work.

It’s also affecting the quality and safety of the work.

“The forecast looks rosy,” he said, “but our workforce is diminishing and that is starting to drive capacity more than owners wanting to get jobs done.”

Most companies in the survey said they would spend more on training in 2016 than in previous years.

This story was originally published January 6, 2016 at 2:19 PM with the headline "Kansas construction companies expect a great year in 2016."