Despite Rising Wages, Construction Shortage Persists

Median hourly wages for construction workers have grown substantially over the last few years, but the industry’s ability to attract top talent in the field remains a challenge. According to a report from online lending marketplace LendingTree, median hourly wages for construction workers grew by 21.1% from 2021 to 2024, which is more than double the 8.2% nationwide wage growth over the same period. While this wage growth is encouraging, the report suggests it could point to much larger challenges, such as not being able to find enough workers.

These challenges can be observed in some areas of the U.S. more than others. Pennsylvania’s construction industry is under the most strain. Construction wages in the state grew 13.4 percentage points faster than overall wage growth in the state, while construction industry employment was 7.4 points slower than total job growth. Washington, D.C., follows closely behind. Washington, D.C., saw a 1.5 percentage point difference between its construction median hourly wage increase and overall median hourly wage increase. However, construction employment fell by 5.3% between 2021 and 2024, while overall employment grew by 7.1%.

The construction industry in Idaho appears to be the healthiest in the country. Wage growth in the state’s construction sector (14.4%) was substantially lower than the overall wage growth (23.8%): a -9.4 percentage point difference. Meanwhile, the growth rate in the construction industry was in the double digits (23.7%) and over twice the state’s overall job growth rate (11.6%).

The lower relative wage growth and double-digit employment increase indicate that Idaho’s construction industry isn’t facing widespread labor shortages and is growing at a healthy clip without having to raise wages to incentivize or attract workers.