Builders need crews control to keep construction on pace.

• Position: North Carolina construction industry - Illustration - Statistical Data Included

Greensboro developer Norman Samet has a problem many in the commercial-construction industry share -- plenty of work but a paucity of workers. Samet Corp.'s revenues grew 20% in the year ended in September, and its project backlog is greater than ever. "There are just not enough people to go around," he says.

The state unemployment rate is at record low levels -- 3.2% in October -- and the construction industry is feeling the squeeze. "Most everybody's busy and making money, they're just short of people," says Mike Hampton, principal at McDevitt Street Bovis Inc. in Charlotte. "There are not enough people currently interested in the trade. They think it's too hard, too cold, too dirty."

Most companies are beefing up benefits, offering hourly workers health insurance and 401(k) plans. They're paying expenses for people willing to move to take jobs. Frank Warren, vice president in the Charlotte office of Karnes Research Co., estimates that the lack of workers is lengthening the average construction project's completion 10% to 20%.

In 1999, the Charlotte area was the site of the state's most notable commercial projects. The biggest -- valued at $240 million -- was Concord Mills, the 1.4 million-square-foot megamall that opened in Concord in September. At the end of the third quarter, 4.4 million square feet of new space were being added to Charlotte's 28.5 million total. Two-thirds of the new construction is in seven downtown buildings. With the downtown office-vacancy rate just 3% in the third quarter, developers are wasting no time adding space.

The 30-story Three First Union Center was near completion in November. A few blocks away, work had begun on 45-story Hearst Tower. Tryon Development LLC is overhauling a 14-story building, renaming it South Tryon Square and adding a Courtyard by Marriott hotel and a 700-space parking garage. Construction began in '99 on the first phase of the Bank of America Corp.-sponsored Gateway Village, which will eventually include offices, parking decks, apartments and stores on West Trade Street.

The Triangle doesn't share Charlotte's penchant for building 30- and 40-story office towers, but plenty of smaller projects are under way. "There is a lot of development; it's just not as conspicuous as in Charlotte," says Mike Williams, vice president in the Triangle office of Karnes Research. "Here, there are large research facilities going up behind pine trees in [Research Triangle] Park or out in the suburbs...