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FEATURE





                                         What’s Next for the





                             Multi-Billion Electrical






                                       & Systems Industry









                                                                            BY RAESHAWN CROSSON

















                                                                                        merican consumers will
                                                                                        pay a lot of money to bring
                                                                                        electrical power, lighting,
                                                                                        and communications to
                                                                              A commercial and residential
                                                                              structures across the United States.

                                                                              In the United States, electrical
                                                                              contracting is an industry valued at
                                                                              over $160 billion annually, made up
                                                                              of over 70,000 electrical contracting
                                                                              firms employing over 666,900
                                                                              electrical workers as of 2016. With
                                                                              more electricians currently exiting the
                                                                              workforce than joining, the electrical
                                                                              construction industry faces a well-
                                                                              documented shortage of skilled
                                                                              labor – to the tune of an estimated
                                                                              85,000-plus unfilled positions by
                                                                              2024, according to recent forecasts
                                                                              by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.






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