Over a year has passed since President Biden signed into law the largest infrastructure bill in US history, marking a significant milestone in the nation’s commitment to bolstering critical sectors of the economy. As the dust settles on this ambitious legislative undertaking, we look at the impact the law is having on the jobs market across a variety of sectors.
What is the infrastructure bill?
In April 2022, Biden signed into law the largest infrastructure bill in US history. $1.2 trillion in funds is being invested into bridges, airports, waterways, public transit, broadband internet, clean water, and more over the next five years.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, as it is also known, secures $550 billion in new federal spending.
The key takeaways from this bill are:
Clean water access
A $55 billion investment to eliminate lead service lines, ensuring clean water for all American families, businesses, schools, and child care centers.
High-speed internet for all
A $65 billion allocation to provide reliable high-speed internet, bridging the digital divide and lowering costs for US citizens.
Roads and bridges
A $110 billion investment to repair and rebuild roads and bridges, focusing on climate change mitigation, resilience, equity, and safety.
Public transit
The largest-ever $89.9 billion investment in public transit, modernizing systems, replacing vehicles with zero-emission options, and expanding accessibility.
Airports and ports upgrade
$17 billion for port infrastructure, $25 billion for airports, aimed at reducing congestion, and emissions, and supporting US competitiveness.
Passenger rail investment
The largest investment in passenger rail since Amtrak’s creation, allocating $66 billion to enhance reliability, speed, and coverage.
Electric vehicle infrastructure
A $7.5 billion investment to build a national network of electric vehicle chargers, supporting the fight against the climate crisis and creating jobs.
Clean energy infrastructure
Over $65 billion to upgrade power infrastructure, building resilient transmission lines, supporting renewables, and advancing cutting-edge clean energy technologies.
Resilience against climate change
An investment of over $50 billion to protect against climate change impacts, cyber-attacks, extreme weather events, and improve weatherization.
Legacy pollution cleanup
The largest-ever investment of $21 billion to clean up Superfund and brownfield sites, reclaim abandoned mines, and cap orphaned oil and gas wells, addressing environmental justice and public health concerns.
Top jobs being created by the infrastructure bill
It’s been estimated that combined with Biden’s “Build Back Framework”, the bill will create an average of 1.5 million additional jobs each year, for the next 10.
It will come as no surprise that roles connected to infrastructure improvements are on the rise, many of which include substantial salaries and work perks.
Clean energy
As well as direct investments into clean energy infrastructure, there’s an emphasis on cleaner ways of doing things, replacing old services with greener ones.
Roles in clean energy include engineering and environmental specialist roles. Currently, there are just shy of 2,000 roles advertised, however, this is an industry that is growing, and will continue to with further government investment down the line.
Highway construction
In September 2023 alone, we saw nearly 400,000 advertised vacancies. 13.83% of the roles advertised cited a key perk, with over 10% citing a retirement plan. Other perks include flexible working, relocation packages, signing bonuses, and retention bonuses. There are money and benefits to be had.
Roles you could explore include highway engineer, laborer, surveyor, or civil engineering.
Aviation
You might assume that most roles in aviation will see you taking to the skies, however, when it comes to aviation infrastructure you’ll be well and truly grounded. Roles in planning and projects are key to ensuring that the US is a major player in both tourism and import and export. By creating smoother systems, reducing wait times, and developing best practices when it comes to customer care, this government investment could bring new trade deals and new markets to the US.
Nearly 11,000 roles were advertised in September, with an average advertised salary of $67,668.
Broadband
If you’re reading this, chances are, you have broadband access. However, it’s been estimated that 42 million Americans have no access. This is both a financial and a geographical issue that the new bill seeks to resolve, quickly.
The digital divide shuts workers out of jobs, reduces access to skills and services, and has a substantial impact on our economy.
With this in mind, it’s not surprising that over 23,000 roles were advertised in just one month earlier this year and that 13.5% of these roles included perks to incentivize taking these roles.
Bridge builder
With a $110 billion investment to repair and rebuild roads and bridges, it’s no surprise that bridge-building roles are in high demand. In September 2023, over 800,000 roles were advertised with perks such as relocation packages, flexible working, and signing and retention bonuses.
If you’re looking to relocate, and have your employer pay for things like travel expenses, rent and utilities, and moving expenses, then over 5,000 bridge-building roles were advertising a package.
Roles to look out for include bridge engineer, construction engineer, and civil engineer.
This $1.2 trillion investment is already having an impact on the job market and has caused some industries to peak in demand. For those with the skills already in place, the next few years could prove to be very lucrative indeed.
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