Housing's Most Wanted: Construction Workers
The new home market is struggling as builders say there's currently 200,000 unfilled construction jobs in the U.S.
The National Association of Homebuilders reports that the number of unfilled construction jobs has soared 81 percent in the past two years alone, causing new home construction to fall way behind the huge demand for homes.
Read more: Uh-Oh, New Home Construction Is Flatlining
Escalating labor costs and a shift in focus to construction of more expensive, and thus more profitable homes, is dampening the overall economy. As a result, entry-level homes are increasingly difficult to find, shutting out may would-be first-time buyers at a time when mortgage rates are near historic lows, and hitting debt-addled millennials particularly hard.
Less than a decade after the housing crisis drove 30 percent of construction workers into new fields, according to NAHB, contractors across the country are now scrambling to find workers, some going as far as handing out flyers at sporting events, churches and schools. Carpenters and electricians are often listed as the most in-demand specialties and some municipalities are even offering state-funded training courses, though they struggle to fill all of the seats.
Intense demand for newly constructed homes has led to a nine-year sales high in July, meaning something has to give or companies will be forced to turn down future projects as they struggle to keep up with economic growth.
Source: “Construction worker shortage weighs on hot U.S. housing market” Reuters (Sept 6, 2016)
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