Eye On Housing
According to the 2021 American Community Survey (ACS), 23% (or close to 2.5 million) of workers employed in construction are self-employed. This is a whole percentage point higher than the share of self employed in construction in 2019, before the pandemic rattled the labor market. Even though the Covid-19 pandemic boosted self-employment across all industries, construction self-employment rates remain significantly… Read More ›
According to the most recent 2021 American Community Survey (ACS), the number of immigrant workers in construction, including self-employed, remained close to 2.8 million, on a par with the levels recorded by the ACS before the Covid-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on labor markets. The share of immigrant workers stayed at 24% of the construction workforce, slightly below the 2016 record… Read More ›
Per the latest results of NAHB’s Home Building Geography Index (HBGI), single-family home building showed higher growth rates across all regional submarkets in the fourth quarter of 2021, relative to the fourth quarter of 2020. Quarterly growth, however, trended downwards for all regions in the third and fourth quarters of 2021. Supply-side constraints and expectations of rising interest rates, particularly… Read More ›
Friday’s post described how, in the construction industry, job layoffs have plunged while unfilled job positions remain elevated (according to the government’s latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover report). If more evidence of a severe supply chain challenge is needed, the record percentages of NAHB members reporting labor shortages in recent surveys can provide it. Let’s turn first to the… Read More ›
Last week, we published a post highlighting a continuing high reliance of construction on immigrant workers that now account for 24% of the construction work force. The share is much higher, reaching 30%, among construction tradesmen. In some states, reliance on foreign-born labor is even more pronounced with immigrants comprising close to 40% of the construction workforce in California and… Read More ›
According to the most recent American Community Survey (ACS), the number of immigrant workers in construction approached 2.8 million in 2019, the highest level recorded by the ACS. Immigrant workers now account for 24% of the construction workforce, slightly below the 2016 record high share of 24.4%. The share of immigrants is higher in construction trades, reaching 30%. The latest… Read More ›
New NAHB research shows that despite the slowing of immigration inflow, the share of foreign-born workers in the US construction labor force remain at record high levels but showed no growth in 2017 and 2018. Immigrant workers now account for close to one in four workers in construction. The share of immigrants is even higher in construction trades, reaching 30%…. Read More ›
According to the 2018 Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) Survey data and analysis by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), half of payroll workers in construction earn more than $47,290 and the top 25% make at least $66,290. In comparison, the U.S. median wage is $38,640, while the top quartile (top 25%) makes at least $62,510…. Read More ›
Labor and subcontractor shortages remained widespread in July of 2019 and are continuing to impact the industry in a number of ways—including putting additional upward pressure on new home prices— according to results from special questions on the survey for the NAHB/Well Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). In July, the HMI survey asked builders specifically about shortages in 16 different occupations. … Read More ›
In response to NAHB’s Remodeling Market Index (RMI) survey for the 3rd quarter of 2018, roughly 85 percent of remodelers reported shortages of workers available to perform finished or rough carpentry, and nearly half (48 percent) classified the shortage of finished carpenters as serious. Although these percentages are down slightly from a year earlier, they remain seriously elevated. The RMI… Read More ›