Issues Impacting Contractors

Each quarter, the Home Improvement Research Institute (HIRI) partners with The Farnsworth Group and HomeAdvisor to survey contractors on a rotating list of topics, as well as their industry and business sentiment. The two most recent contractor topic studies covered the effects of tariffs and the tax act in the fourth quarter of 2018 and a construction industry labor shortage in the first quarter of 2019.

Study Highlights

• According to research on the effects of tariffs and the tax act, only 25% of contractors oppose the new tariffs in the United States, even though 76% of them report an increase in the cost of materials.
• Apparently, these issues are not major deterrents, as 70% of contractors report no change in the competitiveness of their business.
• Almost 66% of respondents acknowledge the labor shortage in the construction industry.
• Most contractors agree that a lack of skilled labor and lack of interest in the industry have a negative impact on their business, with many reporting project delays because of these factors.

Learn more about the impact of tariffs and the labor shortage with a membership to HIRI, which grants you full access to these reports and many more, as well as peer-to-peer networking and discounted industry events. JOIN NOW