flexiblefullpage - default
Currently Reading

Housing Policy: Construction Trade and Service Jobs by the Numbers

Advertisement
billboard - default

Housing Policy: Construction Trade and Service Jobs by the Numbers

Trade-specific occupations represent 64 percent of all jobs in the residential construction industry, and carpenters represent almost half of those construction jobs.


By National Association of Home Builders March 26, 2014
This article first appeared in the PB March 2014 issue of Pro Builder.

Trade-specific occupations represent 64 percent of all jobs in the residential construction industry, and carpenters represent almost half of those construction jobs, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

BLS data from the 2012 Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) Survey allow reporting about the roles workers play in home building. The OES survey defines employment as the number of workers who can be classified as full- or part-time employees. The survey provides a profile of the residential building construction industry, which includes builders of for-sale and owner/contractor-built single-family and multifamily housing, as well as residential remodelers.
 
Not surprisingly, the largest share of home building/remodeling employment is concentrated in construction jobs. For 2012, more than 363,000 jobs were in such fields.  

Trade, office, and support service figures

Carpenters make up 47 percent of construction jobs, for a total of more than 171,000 jobs. The OES defines carpenters as workers who construct, erect, install, or repair structures made of wood. It also includes workers who install cabinets and siding, among other things. Approximately 30 percent of carpenters nationwide are employed by the residential building construction sector.
 
Rounding out the construction segment of industry employment are construction laborers, worksite supervisors, brick masons, stonemasons, carpet/tile installers, cement masons, equipment operators, drywall installers, electricians, glaziers, insulation workers, painters, plumbers, plasters, rebar workers, roofers, and sheet metal workers.
 
Management jobs constituted approximately 9 percent of jobs in the residential construction industry, for a total of more than 48,000 positions. Office and administrative support made up the second largest category, which at just under 80,000 jobs represented 14 percent of sector employment.  Sales staff and business/finance roles each made up about 4 percent of home building business jobs, each contributing approximately 24,000 jobs.
 
Other jobs in home building, together representing roughly 6 percent of employment in the industry, include architects, lawyers, designers, building/grounds maintenance staff, security guards, drivers, and information technology staff.  PB
 
Visit NAHB economics blog, www.eyeonhousing.org, to learn more about construction employment and wages of many of the occupations in residential construction.
 
 

Related Stories

Market Data + Trends

National Home Prices Fell for the Seventh Straight Month in January

U.S. home prices are cooling as interest rates rise, and these metros are seeing the biggest price corrections

Affordability

US Housing Affordability Is Worse Now Than It Was in 2008

Measurements of housing affordability were worse in December 2022 than at any point leading up to the housing bubble in 2008, but experts say conditions will improve by the end of the year

Housing Markets

These Pandemic Boomtowns Are Cooling Down in 2023

Homebuying hotspots like Austin and Seattle are seeing slower sales and lower home prices as prospective buyers confront a series of new obstacles 

Advertisement
boombox1 -
Advertisement
native1 - default
halfpage2 -

More in Category




Advertisement
native2 - default
Advertisement
halfpage1 -

Create an account

By creating an account, you agree to Pro Builder's terms of service and privacy policy.


Daily Feed Newsletter

Get Pro Builder in your inbox

Each day, Pro Builder's editors assemble the latest breaking industry news, hottest trends, and most relevant research, delivered to your inbox.

Save the stories you care about

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet lorem ipsum dolor sit amet lorem ipsum dolor sit amet.

The bookmark icon allows you to save any story to your account to read it later
Tap it once to save, and tap it again to unsave

It looks like you’re using an ad-blocker!

Pro Builder is an advertisting supported site and we noticed you have ad-blocking enabled in your browser. There are two ways you can keep reading:

Disable your ad-blocker
Disable now
Subscribe to Pro Builder
Subscribe
Already a member? Sign in
Become a Member

Subscribe to Pro Builder for unlimited access

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.