The construction industry is booming with plenty of key electricity plants but there’s barely enough workers to sustain it - need as much attraction as possible

Construction activity in the U.S. is getting a boost from new plants for electric vehicles, warehouses for e-commerce and manufacturers deciding to do more work in the U.S. after global supply chains broke down during the pandemic. Construction spending on manufacturing last year was the highest on record, according to the Census Bureau. Increased federal spending on public-works projects, defense and production of electric-vehicle batteries and semiconductor chips is expected to keep construction activity elevated into next year, contractors said. Deere & Co., Caterpillar Inc. and other construction-equipment manufacturers expect higher machinery sales in the U.S. this year. “We feel good about nonresidential construction in North America,” Caterpillar Chief Executive Jim Umpleby told investors in March at a construction-equipment trade show in Las Vegas. “That business has been improving and will continue to improve.” The backlog of nonresidential projects in the U.S. under contract but not yet started was 9.2 months in February, more than a month longer than the previous February, according to the Associated Builders and Contractors Inc., a trade group based in Washington, D.C. For factories, energy projects and other industrial jobs, the backlog was 10.4 months in February, an increase of two months from January and 3.8 months from February 2022. While the rising backlog indicates continuing demand for construction, some analysts warn the backlog signals contractors’ increasing difficulties completing jobs and a reluctance to start new ones. Caddell Construction Co. said it recently completed distribution warehouses near Dallas and Charleston, S.C., with about 2.5 million square feet of space in each building. The contractor based in Montgomery, Ala., has opted not to pursue contracts for some larger buildings because of concerns about the availability of workers and materials needed for the projects, said Ricky Byrd, senior vice president for commercial construction.   “There’s not enough talent in the market to do all the jobs that are out there,” Mr. Byrd said. “We say ‘no’ to projects more than we say ‘yes’ these days. It’s part of managing our risk.” About one-fifth of construction workers are older than 55 years old and are often the most skilled workers or supervisors on a job site, the builders-and-contractors group said. As older, higher-skilled workers retire or leave for other jobs, many contractors haven’t been able to quickly replace them with younger workers with the same skill levels.