Report: COVID-19 cost NYC construction industry $9.8 billion

A new analysis also claims that New York City’s construction sector lost 74,000 in direct and indirect jobs due to the pandemic.

• The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in $9.8 billion in lost construction activity and 74,000 direct and indirect lost jobs in New York City, according to a report by the Building Trades Employers’ Association. The decline in jobs contributed to a $5.5 billion loss in total wages, the report said.
• The decline in activity also affected the city’s Minority and Women Business Enterprises, as more than 85% of MWBEs are expected to be out of businesses in the next six months, according to a New York City Comptroller’s Office survey cited in the report.
• “A decade of employment growth was wiped out in two months last year,” the report said, quoting the New York City Independent Budget Office, which noted that it will take at least five years to recover from the effects of the pandemic.

Read more at Construction Dive.

Report: Construction workers most hesitant to get vaccinated

• COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy varies widely by occupation, and construction workers are the most hesitant to get vaccinated, according to a study from researchers at Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh.
• Nearly half (46.4%) of those employed in the construction/extraction occupation category that responded to the survey said they would probably or definitely choose not to get vaccinated if offered a COVID-19 vaccine. Slightly fewer workers (42.6%) in the installation/maintenance/repair categories said the same.
• Major causes of vaccine hesitancy found by the study include concerns about side effects, a belief that the individual doesn’t need the vaccine, distrust in the government or the vaccines themselves and a preference to wait and see if the vaccine is safe.

Read more at Construction Dive.