Mainebiz

V O L . X X V I I I N O. X I M AY 3 0 , 2 0 2 2 6 Businesses: Help wanted Two years after the pandemic sent workers home, Maine's labor market has reached near full recovery as the number of jobs neared pre-pandemic levels and unemployment hovered close to the lows of more than two years ago. Overall, the labor market in Maine remains tight, with businesses ranging from McDonald's to Home Depot cast- ing a net for workers. Employers such as MaineHealth are offering sign-on bonuses for hard-to-fill jobs and some resort restaurants operating fewer hours due to limited staffing. Other opera- tions, ranging from Sugarloaf ski resort to Jackson Laboratory are even develop- ing workforce housing to help attract and retain employees. According to the Maine Department of Labor, total nonfarm wage and salary jobs in Maine were essentially unchanged in April. After an upward revision for March, jobs increased an average of 3,400 in each of the last three months over the prior three. e unemployment rate decreased to 3.3% and averaged 3.6% in the last three-months.e 3.3% unem- ployment rate and 22,600 unemployed people were down from March and were the lowest in 25 months. e 59% labor force participation rate and the 57.1% employment-to-population ratio were little changed in the month, the Department of Labor said. Home prices continue to rise e price for a single-family home in Maine surged about 25% in April from a year ago, as demand remained strong and the few homes on the market sold quickly. e surge in pricing put the statewide median sales price at $346,000, up from $276,000 a year ago. For the three-month period ending April 30, all 16 Maine counties saw a drop in the number of units sold but an increase in median sales price. Cumberland County had the highest median sales price, at $491,947, up from $410,000 a year ago. e Maine Association of Realtors said 1,143 homes changed hands in April 2022, a decrease of 20.9% from April of last year. April marked the tenth con- secutive month of year-over-year sales declines, and seven of those months also showed a decline in for-sale inventory. N O T E W O R T H Y S T A T E W I D E Gov. Janet Mills and MaineHousing launched a $20 million program B U S I N E S S M A I N E Business news from around the state S T A T E W I D E B R I E F As supply chain issues continue, construction prices keep rising B y J e s s i c a H a l l The start of the year brought some hope for stability to the construction industry, but that quickly faded as world events added new supply challenges and cost increases, according to the latest market outlook from Consigli Construction Co. Inc. The war in Ukraine has reduced the supply of raw mate- rials, while port congestion from China to Los Angeles and COVID-19 variants have made securing necessary construc- tion supplies more complicated and more costly. As a result, Consigli, which is based in Milford, Mass., and has a Portland office, now expects overall project price increases of 7% to 9% this year, with more potential disrup- tions in the future adding possible further costs, delays and complications. Those projected increases are on top of a 12% increase in overall costs of projects last year, said Peter Capone, Consigli's director of purchasing. Some supplies may see even higher price increases. Roofing "membranes" and insulation are expected to see price jumps of 10% to 15%, while ductile iron pipes could see a rise of 15%. Everything from copper wiring and cabling to door hardware and structural steel and lumber are all expected to see some moderate price hikes, Consigli said. Escalating fuel prices also are adding to cost increases along the entire supply chain, whether it's the cost to manu- facture the goods or shipping them, the firm said. Another headache in planning large-scale construction projects has been securing the right materials when needed. Long delays have stretched out projects or caused contrac- tors to juggle various parts of a project differently. For example, some Maine jobs are being fabricated in sections in South Paris and assembled together at the end, said Matthew Tonello, project executive and director of Maine operations based in Consigli's Portland office. Delays of a year For large mechanical and electrical equipment, delays can be as long as 13 months. The wait for roofing insulation can be six to eight months, while supplies such as elevators can take six months and steel joists and appliances can take three- to -four months, the firm found. "Supplies that would take six to eight weeks to order in the past are taking 12 to 13 months now," said Capone. "We're having to pre-buy materials and store it," Tonello said. The firm bought warehouses in Portland, Brunswick and Fairfield to hold materials whenever they could acquire them instead of ordering them on an as-needed basis for jobs, Tonello said. Issues that could create further hiccups going forward include the contract negotiations with port workers, which could disrupt U.S. freight markets. Contract negotiations are scheduled for July and will affect 22,000 longshoremen working at 79 ports. Meanwhile, $1 billion in federal stimulus funding, which will award funds to invest in regions across the country, will place an additional burden on the labor workforce, which is already stretched thin. "In Maine, you have the oldest population in the nation. There are significant skill sets leaving the workforce and retiring that have 30 or 40 years of experience that's hard to replace," said Tonello. P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y O F RO B E R T U M E N H O F E R P H O T O G R A P H Y, C O N S I G L I C O N S T R U C T I O N C O. I N C . Materials that were taking 6 to 8 weeks to arrive in the past are now taking a year or more. Consigli Construction Co. Inc. expects higher prices and more difficulty getting supplies this year.

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