Study Finds PLAs Improve Workforce Access Without Raising Costs
A new study finds project labor agreements, the pre-hire agreements that set wages, benefits, work rules and training standards for every contractor on a job, do not make public construction more expensive, according to NJBIZ. The 2026 white paper was authored by Peter Philips of the University of Utah and Kevin Conner, a labor economist and postdoctoral researcher at the same university, and was commissioned by the Engineers Labor-Employer Cooperative, ELEC 825.
Related guide: Project labor agreements in New Jersey: the law and the 2026 change
The study takes direct aim at a 2010 New Jersey Labor Commissioner report long cited by critics to claim PLA school projects cost 19% more per square foot.
Researchers found that report had significant methodological problems, including how it handled square footage and rapidly changing construction costs over the study period. Non-PLA projects in the data were concentrated earlier, when costs were lower, while PLA projects were completed later, when costs were rising. Once the analysis was corrected for timing, the estimated cost difference became statistically insignificant.
The research also points to New Jersey’s skilled-worker shortage as a bigger factor in project outcomes than bid price alone. In 2025, 73% of New Jersey contractors reported severe difficulty finding qualified workers, and open positions took an average of 71 days to fill. Contractors signed with union apprenticeship programs reported meaningfully smaller shortages, in some cases by nearly 40%.
Union apprenticeship programs account for roughly 82% of the value of New Jersey’s $135 million in construction training-facility assets, spreading training costs across contractors rather than leaving investment to any single company.
The bottom line, according to the study: do PLAs increase costs? The evidence says no, and the workforce and scheduling benefits give public owners more certainty that a project stays on track.
Full study details via NJBIZ.
