EDITOR’S NOTE: This is an updated version of the story.
The construction industry in Greater Hartford will add 6,000 jobs annually over the next five years, thanks to $5.4 billion in public and private projects, according to a study Thursday from Capital Workforce Partners.
The study – touted by Gov. Dannel Malloy and Labor Commissioner Glenn Marshall on Thursday – simply added up all the scheduled and potential projects for North Central Connecticut, figured how many jobs each of those projects would provide, and then added the total dollar amount and jobs created.
“This new report is good news for the construction and trades industries, and it’s good news for our state’s economy,” Malloy said.
Between 2011 and 2015, the region has 105 projects valued at $4.35 billion scheduled and another nine projects values at $1.07 billion potentially on the slate.
Projects included in the projection include $56 million for a Hartford Public Safety Complex; $18 million for a Lego Headquarters in Enfield; $65 million for a Connecticut Studios Film Center in South Windsor; $50 million for a Department of Public Health Laboratory in Rocky Hill, $313 million for a New Britain-Hartford Busway, and $205 million for New-Haven-Hartford-Springfield High Speed Railroad.
The report assumes the projects will come to fruition although some – such as Connecticut Studios – are far from final.
Although the report says 6,000 jobs will be created annual over five years – for 30,000 jobs total – that doesn’t mean there will be 30,000 new Greater Hartford construction employees added over the next five years. Many of the projects can be performed by the same companies with the same employees.
For example, a construction employee working on the $6 million Hartford Public Library project in 2011 could then work on the $28 million New Britain Public Safety Complex in 2013 and move onto the $224 million UConn Health Center project in 2015.
The report also does not specify where the jobs will be created. Complaints have long plagued the state construction industry that projects are awarded to out-of-state companies using out-of-state workers.
However, the slowdown in the construction industry since 2007 has created a backlog of projects that will increase the need for construction workers in Greater Hartford
Since the economic recession began the number of Connecticut construction employees dropped from 68,600 in 2007 to 49,600 in 2010 – a 28 percent decrease. Those numbers are recovering this year, with preliminary July construction employment reaching 54,300, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
To deal with the backlog when those projects begin, Capital Workforce Partners through its job funnel has started training workers. The state government has spent $125,000 in Greater Hartford and $425,000 throughout the state for these training programs. Portion of the U.S. Department of Labor’s $5.8 million green jobs grant will go toward these programs as well.
“It is critical that we identify today the needs of employers so that workers are trained for the jobs of today and tomorrow,” Marshall said.