Dive Brief:
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The Wall Street Journal gave a thumbs-up to construction as a career on Monday: "For those who have less than a college degree,"wrote Kathleen Madigan, who pens the Big Picture column for Dow Jones Newswires, "the best career path may lead to a construction site."
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Her reasoning: Since 2010, payrolls have swollen in the construction industry faster than in manufacturing. The federal government’s June jobs report showed construction added 260,000 workers over the last year, compared with 160,000 for factories.
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Plus, she predicted the construction sector will hire more workers over the coming months than manufacturing because the building industry is poised to grow faster.
Dive Insight:
Like economists who cover construction employment issues, Madison predicted that the lack of skilled workers is "the biggest obstacle that could hold back construction jobs."
She pointed to the massive exodus of construction workers from the field after the housing bubble burst nearly a decade ago — and predicted that many — especially those who found jobs in other industries— "may not feel like returning to the building site."