Construction industry offers good jobs, good benefits: A construction professional can bring in an annual salary that ranges from $40,000 to $60,000, plus benefits.

• Author: Pardes, Joan
• Position: Industry Overview - Statistical Data Included

As the world grapples with the ramifications of the events of last year, one fact remains: the U.S. economy will ultimately keep on growing-perhaps slower than the last decade-but America will keep investing in and building a better tomorrow. Here in Alaska, the business of building is one of the state's economic anchors, and, according to experts, the future looks bright for Alaska's construction sector.

"Construction is one of the more predictable industries (in Alaska)," said State Labor Economist Neil Fried. "It's one of those industries that has been growing incrementally every year and one of the stabilizers of our economy for the past decade."

Last summer, Alaska's construction industry employed 18,900 workers and 11,300 in January in 2001. Just five years ago in 1996, the summer work force peaked at 16,800 and plummeted to 9,000 in the winter.

"It's a major seasonal industry," said Fried. "In the old days, absolutely nothing happened in the winter but now building construction goes on all year long. The technology in this field has changed dramatically over the years."

Despite the economic slowdown in the Lower 48, Fried predicts Alaska's construction industry will continue to grow and that the projected expansion might create a work force shortage.

"Last year and the year before there were lots of contractors talking about the problem of attracting workers, said Fried from his office in Anchorage. "The whole country's labor force was being tapped and there was very low unemployment in Alaska like the rest of the country.

"It's too soon to say if there will be a shortage here in 2002, but the longer term concern is replacing the aging work force and encouraging young people to pursue careers in the construction industry to replace the people who are retiring," Fried said. "The demographics just aren't there to replace the current work force-not only here in Alaska but all across the country."

A CONSTRUCTION SNAPSHOT

"I would have to agree that there is a shortage of construction workers in Alaska but I would also have to say that right now, the problem is more in terms of quality than quantity," said Richard Cattanach, executive director of the Associated General Contractors of Alaska. "Contractors can't grow because they can't attract the quality personnel to keep up their corporate image.

"Imagine, if you will, I've got a guy whose 55 to 60, a finished carpenter, and he's retiring," Cattanach said. "And I've just hired a guy whose...