North Texas Faces Worst Construction Labor Shortage
While Dallas-Fort Worth residential construction market is the busiest in the nation, with over 50,000 apartments and about 30,000 single-family homes underway, these projects face a shortage of skilled laborers in the tens of thousands. Phil Crone, head of the Dallas Builders Association, estimates that the area needs 18,000-20,000 new workers in order to meet demand.
North Texas is approaching full employment, and it does not have enough workers to fill jobs in many sectors. Many construction laborers left the area or left the industry during the Great Recession, and younger job prospects have not shown up to take their place. According to a recent industry study, a majority of young Americans say that they would not take construction jobs even if they paid six figures or more, because the work did not appeal to them.
The National Association of Home Builders estimates that the industry in the U.S. is short almost 1 million workers. And with the average age of many skilled laborers — plumbers, electricians, masons and the like — in their late 50s, housing will see even more people leave the business in the years ahead.
