Survey: Lack of Skilled Construction Workers Slowing Recovery

More than half of the responding builders have paid higher wages or subcontractor bids to secure projects, and consequently raised home prices, due to the labor shortage. Moreover, 46 percent of the builders surveyed experienced delays in completing projects on time; 15 percent had to turn down some projects and 9 percent lost or cancelled sales due to the lack of workers.

A new National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) survey shows that growing labor shortages in the residential construction sector are impeding the housing and economic recovery.

"Since June of 2012, residential construction firms are reporting an increasing number of shortages in all aspects of the industry – from carpenters, excavators, framers, roofers and plumbers, to bricklayers, HVAC, building maintenance managers and weatherization workers. The same holds true for subcontractors," said NAHB chief economist David Crowe.

Many skilled residential construction workers were forced to seek employment elsewhere during the recession and are no longer currently available. The housing job losses mushroomed to more than 1.4 million during the peak of the downturn, and many workers are not returning to the field.

Meanwhile, a lack of buildable lots and increased costs for materials and labor are also contributing to the problem, as the infrastructure that supports home building moves to re-establish itself following the worst housing downturn since the Great Depression, Crowe said.