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

Trump Administration Could Effectively End Housing Voucher Program
Federal officials are eyeing major cuts to the Section 8 program that helps millions of low-income households pay rent.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Ken Jennings Launches Transit Web Series
The Jeopardy champ wants you to ride public transit.

Driving Equity and Clean Air: California Invests in Greener School Transportation
California has awarded $500 million to fund 1,000 zero-emission school buses and chargers for educational agencies as part of its effort to reduce pollution, improve student health, and accelerate the transition to clean transportation.

Congress Moves to End Reconnecting Communities and Related Grants
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee moved to rescind funding for the Neighborhood Equity and Access program, which funds highway removals, freeway caps, transit projects, pedestrian infrastructure, and more.

From Throughway to Public Space: Taking Back the American Street
How the Covid-19 pandemic taught us new ways to reclaim city streets from cars.
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