Labour Burden Rate

The number of field workers supported by each administrative/office employee. A ratio of 10:1 is common for paper-based operations; digitized operations often achieve 30:1 to 40:1.

A U.S. research organisation that tracks and publishes construction labour wage rates and collective bargaining data. Subcontractors use CLRC reports to benchmark labour costs and support bid pricing on union projects.

The portion of a subcontractor's available workforce, equipment, or service hours that is not currently committed to active contracts, representing untapped revenue potential that can be offered to clients on short notice or used to absorb surge demand without turning down work.

The percentage of available working hours that crews or equipment are actively billable to a client. A low utilisation rate signals idle resources draining overhead costs. Subcontractors track this metric closely to assess profitability across projects.

A business that generates revenue but has no paid employees — typically a sole proprietor or owner-operator. Many field subcontractors and independent tradespeople operate this way. Statistics Canada tracks these firms separately in labour and industry data.

The percentage of available crew hours that are billable or actively deployed on a job. Low utilisation means workers are on standby or idle, cutting into margins. Subcontractors track this metric to assess workforce efficiency and bid future projects accurately.

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