With an aging workforce and few new workers entering the sector, cities could find themselves short of the workers needed to build and maintain projects funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

According to a Brookings Institution report, the infrastructure sector is facing a ‘silver tsunami’ as a large portion of the workforce reaches retirement age, prompting concerns about who will build the many infrastructure projects being pushed through thanks to federal funding. As Kery Murakami writes in Route Fifty, “The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that 1.7 million people employed in the infrastructure sector will leave their jobs each year between 2021 and 2031.”
This is due in large part to the demographics of the infrastructure workforce. According to Murakami, “nearly three-fourths of transit and intercity bus drivers are 45 years old or older, as are 55.7% of power distributors and dispatchers and 53.8% of rail yard engineers.” The situation is even more dire in the transit sector, where “Up to 50% of bus maintenance employees are eligible to retire in the next three to five years.” Meanwhile, “Only 11% of infrastructure workers are 24 years or younger.”
The difficulty of infrastructure jobs also means fewer young workers are entering the industry, and more workers are opting out. “The number of workers leaving jobs in construction, transportation, warehousing, and utilities for other jobs grew by almost 20% last year.”
FULL STORY: The ‘Silver Tsunami’ Expected to Hit the Infrastructure Sector

Florida Considers Legalizing ADUs
Current state law allows — but doesn’t require — cities to permit accessory dwelling units in single-family residential neighborhoods.

Manufactured Crisis: Losing the Nation’s Largest Source of Unsubsidized Affordable Housing
Manufactured housing communities have long been an affordable housing option for millions of people living in the U.S., but that affordability is disappearing rapidly. How did we get here?

Research Shows More Roads = More Driving
A national study shows, once again, that increasing road supply induces additional vehicle travel, particularly over the long run.

EV Chargers Now Outnumber Gas Pumps by Nearly 50% in California
Fast chargers still lag behind amidst rapid growth.

Affordable Housing Renovations Halt Mid-Air Amidst DOGE Clawbacks
HUD may rescind over a billion dollars earmarked for green building upgrades.

Has Anyone at USDOT Read Donald Shoup?
USDOT employees, who are required to go back to the office, will receive free parking at the agency’s D.C. offices — flying in the face of a growing research body that calls for pricing parking at its real value.
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