An April 20 report from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) indicated that while more Gen Zers are now considering a career in the construction industry, recruitment to the trades still faces obstacles.
The NAHB found that construction trade interest among adults aged 18 to 25 has doubled from 3 percent to 6 percent over the past decade. Today, 73 percent of young adults cited good pay and the opportunity to gain useful skills as the main reasons for choosing this career.
However, additional work is still needed to educate the public about the increasing opportunities for long-standing, lucrative careers in skilled trades, the NAHB stated.
“While this new research shows that more young adults have a positive attitude toward a career in the construction trades, many are still unaware that careers in the building trades offer workers well paid jobs and opportunities for growth in one of the most in-demand industries in the nation,” NAHB Chairman Bill Owens said in the report.
“High schools need to stress that the skilled trades are a viable alternative to four-year colleges that can pay above median wages and serve as a launching pad for small business development.”
The survey also shows that 30 percent of Gen Z who are still undecided about a future career path would consider the construction trades if compensation were high enough. That compares with just 18 percent 10 years ago.
The NAHB quoted a May 2024 Bureau of Labor Statistics report showing that half of payroll workers in construction earn more than $60,320 annually, with the top 25 percent earning at least $81,510. These salaries skew much higher when compared with the U.S. median annual salary of $49,500, and $78,810 for the top 25 percent of earners.
A key finding in the study is that 52 percent of young adults who are undecided about a career and who would not have previously considered construction would reconsider it for the right paycheck. Of this group, 32 percent responded that a $90,000 annual salary would change their minds, while 20 percent said they would reconsider it for $80,000. The NAHB noted that there are already 12 construction trade occupations with median annual wages that meet or exceed those numbers.
Among younger adults with a clear sense of career paths, 20 percent chose health care, 9 percent chose business, and 8 percent chose technology.
Nearly 30 percent of those aged 18 to 25 who lacked a four-year college degree cited education costs as the main reason for not attending or finishing college.
Regionally, young adults in the West were most likely to want a career in the trades at 10 percent, compared with 6 percent in the South and 5 percent in the Northeast and Midwest.
According to the NAHB, the United States is still facing a housing shortage of about 1.2 million units, and nearly 2.2 million new skilled construction workers will be needed over the next three years to keep pace with demand and replace retiring or exiting workers.
In an NAHB survey completed earlier this year, 61 percent of single-family home builders cited the cost and availability of labor as a significant challenge that they’ll face this year. Currently, the median age of construction workers is 42—one year older than the median age of non-construction workers.
“If we are to meet the housing needs of a growing population, now, more than ever, providing opportunities for students to learn a craft that will produce well-paying and life-long career opportunities must be a top priority,” Owens said.
The NAHB expressed its support for the CONSTRUCTS Act, a bipartisan bill now pending before Congress to address the severe labor shortage in the construction industry and other essential trades. The legislation would amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to expand the ability of community colleges and career and technical education schools to offer outreach activities for careers in residential construction.
“Policymakers at all levels of government can help in this endeavor by supporting funding for building and construction trades education and providing more placement services to job seekers,” Owens stated.
