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 2019 American Community Survey (ACS), 22% (2.4 million) of construction workers are self-employed. This is significantly higher than an economy-wide average of 9.7% of the employed labor force. Nevertheless, construction self-employment rates are now lowest on record, down from a record high of over 26% in 2010. One of the factors behind the recently falling construction self-employment… Read More ›
A new NAHB study presents the most recent and comprehensive estimates of home building employment, including self-employed workers, by state and congressional district. NAHB Economics estimates that out of 10.3 million people working in construction in 2017, more than 4 million people worked in residential construction, accounting for 2.6% of the US employed civilian labor force. Despite steady job gains… Read More ›
According to the 2016 ACS, over 23% of construction workers are self-employed, while an economy-wide average does not reach 10% of the employed labor force. The high self-employment rates in construction reflect a common practice of builders and remodelers to maintain relatively small payrolls and rely on subcontractors for a large share of the construction work. During the housing downturn,… Read More ›