Construction Industry Struggles to Attract Young Workers—But That’s Changing

Despite efforts to attract younger workers to the construction industry, the median age of construction workers in the U.S. sits at 42, one year older than the typical worker in the national labor force, according to the National Association of Home Builders. Even so, Generation Z is still more likely to join the construction labor force in the coming years, as many in that cohort report increasing interest in the field due to the high costs of college, job security within the construction industry, and competitive wages.

While the number of Gen Zers in the construction workforce remains low, the share of workers in that generation more than doubled from 2019 to 2023, from 6.4% to 14.1%. By comparison, the share of Millennials grew slightly from 35.7% to 37.7% over the same time period, while Gen Xers in the construction industry declined from 36.6% to 33.7% and the share of Baby Boomers fell from 20.6% to 14.2% as many of those workers retired.

As of 2023, only about 14.1% of the construction labor force were Gen Zers. Around 71% of the construction labor force were Millennials and Gen-Xers, who are considered in their prime working years, compared to 66% in the overall labor force. The relative greater share of Gen X construction labor force reveals the current challenge of the labor shortage. Gen X is a smaller generational group than the Baby Boomers. The share of Baby Boomer construction labor force is 14.2%, implying that a substantial portion of the labor force will retire in the near future. Attracting more skilled labor, especially younger generations, remains the primary long-term goal for the construction industry.