For the past 12 months, wage growth has been below 4% and construction labor demand has stayed strong, even while the economy's total job openings have declined
Jan. 8, 2024
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June 2023 saw year-over-year growth in wages for residential building workers, which the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) defines as those in production and nonsupervisory roles in residential building (about two-thirds of the total number of employees in residential construction), decline to 0.6%. But between June and November, the pace of wage growth picked up to reach 4%, according to data analysis reported in the NAHB's Eye On Housing, an increase NAHB says reflects an imbalance in the construction labor market.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report, average hourly earnings (AHE) for residential building workers were $30.71 per hour in November 2023, increasing 4.0% from $29.52 per hour a year ago. This was 14.1% higher than the manufacturing’s average hourly earnings of $26.91 per hour, 8.9% higher than transportation and warehousing ($28.19 per hour), and 12.0% lower than mining and logging ($34.91 per hour).
