Labor Shortage a Silent Threat to Housing Rebound

NAPLES, Fla. - July 21, 2015 - PRLog -- Single family home building continues to rise but has faltered in recent months due to the shortage of skilled labor.  Home buyer demand remains strong but builders are being held back by a lack of skilled labor to build new homes.

Unemployment in the construction industry dropped in June to its lowest level since 2001.  Expanding job opportunities throughout the economy make it increasingly difficult for contractors to find experienced construction workers.  This scarcity shows up in record workweeks for craft workers and flattening of employment totals, despite higher construction spending.

The nine trade shortage -referring to the various skills needed for homebuilding such as carpentry and concrete is now substantially higher than it was at the peak of the 2004-2005 boom.  Back then annual starts averaged around 2 million, compared to the current rate of about 1 million.

The last time builders reported labor shortages were as wide spread as now were just before 2001 during a prolonged period of strong GDP growth with overall unemployment as low as 4 percent.

Many builders are splitting their crews to try and help get homes done faster.  Many builders are getting creative at how they deal with their trade partners.

Some high schools across the country have started new training programs to add skilled building crews but so far they have been slow to bring out new workers.

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