According to various key economic indicators – such as, most notably, the gross domestic product, which measures the nation’s production output – the U.S. economic outlook is healthy. The GDP growth rate has been slow and steady and is expected to remain between the two and three percent ideal range. As of August, consumer confidence had reached its highest level since October 2000.
What this likely means for the rest of this year and next is simply “more”: more construction projects in categories like new home building, remodeling and commercial building; more business expansion; more government projects; more road/bridge work. As the number of construction projects increase in each of these categories, more of the available U.S. labor force is on the jobsite, working to make completed projects a reality.
It’s reasonable to assume that more workers on jobsites across the country brings an increased safety risk. It’s also reasonable to assume that this increase in construction projects will lead to an increase in safety incidents, such as OSHA recordables and near-misses. Another concern is a less experienced workforce, due to the increased labor demand. What this means to…
