Alabama contractors can’t help but shake their heads at the irony. While it’s been estimated that the city of Birmingham alone has lost 4,000 construction jobs in the past 12 months, in October the state will start collecting a tax from contractors that will fund a construction employee recruiting campaign.
But what seems odd now is something for which the state’s construction associations actually campaigned. The estimated $1.75 million raised annually will go to the Alabama Construction Recruitment Institute, which will offer recruitment and training promotion to attract workers to the industry. Contractors in the state will be taxed 0.0009 cents of gross wages for field personnel below the superintendent level. Whatever the present situation, the state’s contractors know construction’s labor shortage is only in temporary abatement. Kudos to them for taking the long view.
