According to a recent WWEMA survey of 35 member companies, every single company was affected in a negative way by the COVID-19 pandemic. This is not surprising given construction was nearly completely shut down in all but a handful of states and many businesses were shut down globally. The unemployment rate in the U.S. shot up from a post-World War II era low of 3.8 percent in February 2020 to a high of 14.4 percent in April. In one month, a decade of job growth was eliminated; with over 30 million workers suddenly without jobs. Thankfully, as I write this column, the unemployment number is heading downward. We can only hope this trend continues in the coming months, indicating a sharp recovery on the horizon.
While I don’t have access to granular unemployment data from WWEMA-member companies, the same survey showed only 20 percent of the 35 companies with negative growth in staffing levels in the first half of 2020, with all forecasting flat to growing staffing levels for the second half of 2020. This data further supports what I have seen firsthand — that the economic jolt in the water sector is an order of magnitude less than that experienced by many other sectors.
The National Bureau of Economic Research officially announced that the U.S. is in a recession in May. In June, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell testified before Congress suggesting that more needs to be done to address the economic fallout of the pandemic.
“I think there are going to be a large number of people who will not be able to immediately go back to work at their old job, or even in their old industry,” Powell told lawmakers. “There will be a significant group that is left out even after we get the employment bounce.”
It’s time to take notice of how the essential services of water and wastewater keep society operating, no matter what is going on in the world. Now is the time to look ahead and think about how to influence those attending K-12 schools and universities to give a second look at the water sector for career opportunities. This could help solve the upcoming problem of talent drain from the retirement of an aging workforce that is imminent in the water sector.
The American Society of Civil Engineers estimates that we must spend $1.6 trillion above current levels to repair our aging water infrastructure. Major past investments in infrastructure injected jobs and capital into the economy at a rate that would employ millions now and in the coming years. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) in 2009 allocated $840 billion ($2.7k per capita) and the New Deal of the 1930s allocated $650 billion ($5.2k per capita), in today’s dollar. As a percentage of the nation’s output, the New Deal represented an investment rate of 40 percent, while ARRA represented an investment rate of roughly six percent of the nation’s output. While the population has more than doubled over the past 100 years, investment in infrastructure has certainly not kept up with population growth in the U.S. Looking at an investment injection of $1.6 trillion will be $4.8k per capita, which is somewhere in between the two historical programs. Many sources project roughly 10 million jobs will be created for each $1 trillion invested.
As Chairman Powell stated, many will not go back to their old jobs or even their industry. We currently have a unique opportunity to solve the failing infrastructure problem in the U.S. and put millions of the recently unemployed back to work. Just six months ago, a historical low unemployment rate would have created difficulties supporting the jobs needed to create a trillion-dollar investment in infrastructure. As careers and entire sectors must pivot, the U.S. can solve the unemployment problem created by the COVID-19 pandemic and simultaneously fix failing infrastructure — all while shoring up municipal balance sheets with infrastructure assets.
Many of these jobs will be in the water sector, a more stable landscape less prone to the gyrations seen in other sectors. That fact should get the attention of those starting careers or seeking a different career path and help society care for a precious resource essential to life: water. WW
About the Author: Eric LaCoppola is president of Environment One Corporation. He is also a member of the Water and Wastewater Equipment Manufacturers Association (WWEMA) Board of Directors. WWEMA is a non-profit trade association formed in 1908 to represent water and wastewater technology manufacturers and related service providers. WWEMA is made up of many of the most prominent and influential companies in the industry that are working together to shape the future of water and wastewater technology in the U.S. and around the world. For more information about WWEMA, go to www.wwema.org. Interested in becoming a WWEMA member? Contact WWEMA Executive Director, Vanessa Leiby at [email protected].
