A National Association of Home Builders’ analysis of the most recent 2019 American Community Survey data shows the median age of construction workers is 41, underscoring the need for contractors to attract new workers, according to www.constructiondive.com.
Maine has the oldest median age of construction workers at 47, followed by New Hampshire at 46 and West Virginia at 45. Construction workers in the central U.S. are younger than average, with about half in North Dakota and Alaska under 36 and half of all construction workers in Oklahoma and Utah under 38.
By occupation, first-line supervisors of construction trades, extraction workers and construction managers had the oldest median age at 46. Helpers had the youngest median age at 30, followed by those who install solar photovoltaic systems with a median age of 33.
But the high median age is not necessarily unique to the construction industry because there is an aging overall workforce in the U.S.
“While there have been significant advances in technology, it’s still pretty heavily reliant on actual workers to perform, to build projects, to do the work,” said Brian Turmail, vice president of public affairs and strategic initiatives at the Associated General Contractors of America. “And when you have so many people about to age out of the workforce, you want to make sure that you're recruiting and bringing new people.”
Turmail says during the past 30 to 40 years there has been a cultural push in the U.S. toward desk jobs and away from construction jobs as society placed more value in obtaining a professional career with salary and less value on career tracks such as construction. This continues to be an issue despite construction jobs offering good pay and not requiring workers to attend college.
To help address the labor shortage, NRCA offers its Careers in Roofing website to educate regarding career opportunities in the industry and help roofing professionals recruit new workers. NRCA also offers workforce recruitment tools for members.
