Labour shortages, crew management, field technology, and workforce trends in the energy services sector.
Construction workers report anxiety and depression at record rates, and field supervisors are increasingly the first line of response. Here's what the data shows and what subcontractors can do about it.
Black & Veatch's 2026 Water Report, drawing on more than 600 industry stakeholders, confirms aging infrastructure and workforce shortages as the defining pressures on U.S. water utilities, pointing to a long-term construction and maintenance backlog.
The tech industry's data center ambitions are running headlong into a shortage of electricians, welders, and pipefitters. For field service companies, that's a market signal worth paying attention to.
U.S. energy services employment reached 633,115 positions in May, marking three consecutive months of job growth and adding more than 8,000 jobs since January, according to the Energy Workforce & Technology Council.
AI-powered machines and remote operation technology are reshaping how construction crews work. Here's what early-adopter field service companies are deploying and what it means for your workforce.
A bipartisan House proposal released June 4 would create a federal AI governance framework with new workforce forecasting programs and infrastructure reviews, with direct implications for contractors building data centers and managing labor pipelines.
Collège Boréal's new two-year Construction Engineering Technician program in Timmins targets more than 3,700 mining-related job openings projected for the region by 2029.
Canada's Building Trades Unions has released a new Indigenous Reconciliation Action Plan with 41 commitments targeting workforce participation, training, and economic partnership across the trades.
Construction Executive argues the industry faces a "knowledge cliff" as veteran workers retire, and AI-powered tools embedded in equipment and training systems could be the practical solution field service companies need.
Houston added more construction jobs than any other US metro area in the past year, and total construction starts are forecast to climb 6% in 2026. Here's what subcontractors operating in the region need to watch.
Executives at the Pit & Quarry Roundtable flagged tariff-driven cost spikes, labor shifts, and capital project delays as the top pressures facing the aggregate industry heading into 2026.
ProScore Technologies and United Rentals have teamed up to integrate structured equipment operator training into the ProScore platform, offering portable credentials across up to 12 equipment types for construction and energy sector workers.
Crews from 53 utility companies across 24 states worked more than 3,700 combined hours to bring electricity to 13 remote Navajo Nation families through the Light Up Navajo VII initiative.
Virginia Transformer announced plans to build its seventh North American manufacturing facility in Colbert County, Alabama, creating 1,100 jobs and expanding power transformer production capacity.
Canada is committing more than $35 billion to Arctic military and infrastructure projects, but a severe skilled trades shortage in the North means workforce planning is the critical variable. Subcontractors who move early could capture significant opportunity.
New state-level labor data shows construction unemployment climbing across most of the country, yet contractors are keeping workers on payroll. Here's what that tension means for subcontractors planning summer capacity.
BLS data shows oil and gas extraction employment fell to 115,200 in April 2026, the lowest level since August 2022 and the second consecutive April decline. Subcontractors should factor the trend into crew planning.
A surge in AI infrastructure spending is driving one of the strongest construction hiring cycles in decades, creating major opportunities for electrical, mechanical, and HVAC subcontractors who can find the workers.
A Plant Services columnist argues that most plant managers are undermining their own maintenance planning functions, leaving significant labor capacity on the table.
Nonresidential specialty contractors led construction hiring in April, adding an estimated 12,600 positions as data center construction spending surged 34% over the past year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Construction job openings fell 19% year-over-year in March while hiring remained subdued, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Economists say the stagnation signals soft demand and a cautious industry holding pattern.
Construction job openings climbed 23,000 in March but remain well below year-ago levels, with an ABC economist warning that industry hiring is still at historically soft levels heading into summer.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data reveals oil and gas extraction employment dropped from 187,300 in January 2016 to 115,500 in January 2026, with the decline continuing into early 2026. Here's what the shrinking labor pool means for field service companies.
Ontario Power Generation and Yukon Energy have agreed to collaborate on small modular reactor deployment, including potential applications at remote mines and off-grid communities.
The U.S. Department of Labor has proposed a new rule to create a single nationwide standard for joint employer status under the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, and other federal laws. The move aims to simplify compliance for businesses that rely on layered workforce arrangements.
A Noble Corp advisor's presentation at the IADC Annual General Meeting highlights the business case for prioritizing mental and physical health among rig crews, backed by alarming industry statistics on depression and suicide rates.
Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer resigned April 20 amid an inspector general investigation, putting Deputy Secretary Keith Sonderling in charge of OSHA enforcement, Davis-Bacon oversight, and apprenticeship policy.
Republic Drill Co offers drilling tools, supplies, and field support built on decades of surface mining and quarry experience. Here's what it signals for subcontractors working in aggregates and mining.
Workers at construction companies with 10 or fewer employees made up 42.4% of industry fatalities in 2022, according to new CPWR research highlighting the outsized safety risks facing small firms and independent contractors.
Permian Basin Oil and Gas Magazine identifies the top five safety challenges facing oil and gas operators, from complacency in hiring to documentation pitfalls and shortcuts on the job.
With 92% of North American businesses citing material costs as a top concern and workforce shortages persisting, Construction Executive breaks down the insurance strategies subcontractors should be evaluating before 2026 renewals.
Falls remain the leading cause of fatalities in construction, yet most are preventable. Here's a breakdown of the prevention framework subcontractors need before the next OSHA walkthrough.
Economist Anirban Basu outlines the key pressures on construction in early 2026, including a persistent labor shortage, tariff uncertainty, and interest rates that remain stubbornly high.
U.S. oilfield services employment climbed to 627,018 jobs in March, up 1,877 positions from February, according to new Energy Workforce & Technology Council data. Here's what the hiring uptick means for subcontractors competing for crews and contracts.
Austin-Round Rock construction starts reached $20.4 billion in 2025 and are projected to climb to $21.8 billion in 2026, but a tightening skilled labor pool is forcing contractors to rethink how they staff and sequence work.
A role-based breakdown of PPE requirements for high-risk construction tasks, covering demolition, cleanup, and more, with guidance on selection, fit, and replacement for field teams.
XIT Communications, covering 20 counties in the Texas Panhandle, replaced aging HDD equipment with Vermeer's D24x40 S3 and a parts consignment program to reduce jobsite downtime and improve crew productivity.
A Nabors Industries executive outlined a framework for balancing competitive interests with digital collaboration at the 2026 IADC/SPE Drilling Conference in Galveston.
Natural gas prices in Texas have turned negative in some areas, forcing producers to flare excess supply while other markets face shortages. Here's what that pricing disconnect means for field service subcontractors.
U.S. energy services employment dropped to 624,149 in February, with Texas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma posting the steepest declines. Field service companies are being warned to plan for continued workforce contraction.
Hensel Phelps reports saving $342,000 and 3,000 labor hours using Track3D's AI platform, now expanding across entire project portfolio to reduce jobsite information management time.
Caliber 1 Construction CEO Chris Elliott discusses upstream workforce investment strategies as construction firms face persistent labor shortages and aging leadership.
Columbus AEC industry sees sustained growth across data centers, healthcare, and infrastructure projects, but skilled labor shortages threaten project schedules.
An underground utility contractor shares their playbook for transitioning 200 field workers from paper to digital ticketing. The key insight: technology wasn't the hard part.
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