ANALYSIS OF THE FACTORS AFFECTING THE COMMUTE DISTANCE/TIME OF CONSTRUCTION WORKERS

For most people, commuting is an integral part of work, and the industry characteristics of the construction industry determine that construction workers cherish work opportunities more than other professionals, and endure longer commute time, so we are interested in determining how far construction workers travel to jobsites. We undertake a qualitative and quantitative analysis of survey data of construction workers’ commute time, with the following conclusions: Contractors like to hire construction workers in the local labor market, and construction workers frequently live closer to their contractors than to the projects. Occupations such as construction do not allow workers to pick a jobsite and then select a home, so the workers’ strategy is to pick a contractor and follow that contractor's work, or to pick a home and then pick a nearby contractor. Specialty contractors rely more upon local union hiring halls whereas general contractors may try to attach workers to them and have them follow their work. The larger the project size, the more employees will be hired per contractor. These workers generally will have a shorter commute distance, but higher hourly wages attract workers from father away. Also, if a worker works on a construction site for a short period of time, he or she can endure longer commutes. Finally, workers in some trades show greater tolerance for longer commutes, such as iron workers, operating engineers, plaster and drywall workers, and roofers. All ethnic groups express dislike of or show aversion to longer commute distance, but the degree of aversion is different. Asian or the Pacific Islanders show the highest level of aversion and Whites display the lowest.