Home builders are increasingly facing delays and rising costs as they struggle to locate enough construction workers. That represents a far cry from the recession when the construction workforce was hit harder than any other major occupational workforce in America. The housing boom of roughly a decade ago helped push construction industry employment above seven point seven million in two thousand and six.
But over the next five years, nearly two point three million construction workers lost their jobs. Even now, employment in the nation’s construction industry is one point three million below its pre-recession peak. Given that, one would think that there would be plenty of available construction workers. But many construction workers, frustrated by job loss and slow recovery, have left the industry.
To a large extent, that’s bad news. The construction industry supports many middle income jobs, including electricians and carpenters. Federal Reserve research indicates a large and growing group of workers who are likely candidates for construction employment, but who are now simply out of the workforce. It may make sense to expand construction training programs in an effort to connect these dislocated workers to middle income construction opportunities.
