U.S. construction employers face a skilled-trades supply problem shaped by several pressures at once: experienced workers approaching retirement, difficulty finding and keeping qualified hires, competition from data-center projects, and immigration-enforcement disruptions reported by some firms. The evidence does not show that any one factor explains the shortage. A 2026 contractor survey found widespread difficulty filling craft openings, while a separate Alliance for America’s Skilled Trades report projects substantial annual demand through 2035.
Why is the skilled-trades workforce under pressure?
Demand for construction skills is colliding with constraints on how quickly employers can recruit, train and retain workers. The aging of the workforce is part of the concern: Stateline’s October 8, 2026, reporting describes experienced tradespeople nearing retirement. However, the inspected survey and workforce report do not quantify how much of the current shortage is attributable to retirements, so an aging-related share cannot be stated from these figures.
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Other pressures are more directly measured. Contractors report difficulty finding candidates with the necessary skills, credentials or licenses, as well as early turnover among new field employees. At the same time, major projects can intensify competition for workers in particular markets. Immigration enforcement is another reported source of disruption for some employers, but the survey does not establish that it caused the broader labor shortage.
What did construction firms report in 2026?
The Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) and the National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER) surveyed construction firms in July and August 2026. A total of 1,830 individuals responded to at least one section. The results are an employer-reported snapshot across firms and market segments, not a census of workers or vacancies.
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| Survey finding | Result | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| Firms reporting hourly craft openings | 87% | Share of surveyed firms with openings |
| Firms with craft openings saying they were as hard or harder to fill than a year earlier | 88% | Hiring difficulty among firms with openings |
| Firms reporting that labor shortages had delayed projects | 42% | Shortages among their own workers or subcontractors |
| Firms reducing headcount by at least 5% in the previous 12 months | 37% | Reported company staffing change |
| Firms increasing headcount by at least 5% in the previous 12 months | 34% | Reported company staffing change |
| Respondents expecting their firms to add employees over the following 12 months | 73% | Employer expectation, not a guaranteed hiring outcome |
The mix of headcount reductions and increases matters: hiring pressure does not mean every contractor or construction segment is expanding. The AGC/NCCER report says softer market conditions have not eliminated the challenge of finding qualified people.
How much disruption did firms report from immigration enforcement?
In the six months before the survey, 71% of respondents said their firms had experienced no immigration-enforcement impact. The other reported responses show disruption at some businesses, but they describe firms’ reports rather than a count of workers affected.
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| Reported effect in the preceding six months | Share of respondents |
|---|---|
| No impact | 71% |
| Jobsite or offsite visits by immigration agents | 6% |
| Workers leaving or failing to appear because of actual or rumored enforcement actions | 12% |
| Subcontractors losing workers | 16% |
The impact categories can overlap, so they should not be added together as if each represented a different firm or a unique group of workers. The survey also does not establish the legal status of people involved or isolate enforcement as the cause of the wider labor shortage. Foreign-born workers should not be conflated with people lacking legal status.
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Data-center construction is an additional source of labor competition for firms connected to that work. Twenty-eight percent of survey respondents said their firms had worked on a data-center project in the previous 12 months. Among firms reporting workforce effects from data-center projects, the AGC/NCCER survey found:
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| Reported effect | Share of firms reporting workforce effects |
|---|---|
| Increased competition for skilled workers | 58% |
| Increased wage pressure | 49% |
| Open positions became harder to fill | 36% |
| Increased turnover | 30% |
These are reported effects among firms tied to data-center construction, not a national estimate of workers hired by data centers or displaced from other projects. They indicate that large projects can add pressure where employers are competing for the same skills.
Which construction trades were hardest to hire?
Among firms with openings in the listed occupations, the shares reporting difficulty filling those positions were:
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| Occupation | Firms with openings reporting difficulty |
|---|---|
| Electricians | 81% |
| Mechanics | 79% |
| HVAC technicians | 77% |
| Concrete workers | 76% |
These figures describe employer difficulty, not the share of workers in each trade who are unemployed or unavailable. Hiring barriers also include preparation and retention: half of survey respondents said available candidates lacked skills or the required certificate or license, down from 57% in the prior survey. Forty-two percent said new hires failed to show up or left soon after starting, and 83% reported at least some turnover among new field employees within their first 90 days.
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How many skilled-trades workers may be needed?
A separate estimate comes from the Alliance for America’s Skilled Trades’ State of America’s Skilled Trades: A National Report, announced by Ford Motor Company on September 30, 2026. The report examines 124 skilled-trades occupations across all 50 states. Its topline figures are projections, not observed job vacancies:
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- The Alliance report projects about 1.7 million openings per year through 2035 to meet occupational growth and replace people leaving those occupations.
- It estimates that training programs produce 55 workers for every 100 needed.
- It reports that half of program enrollees finish.
The announcement does not provide the full methodology or underlying state-by-state values, so the figures should be read as Alliance report estimates rather than independently verified forecasts. Stateline reports that the Alliance identifies Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas as high-demand, low-supply states. It describes Florida as first in demand and last in supply; the ranking method is not detailed in the inspected coverage.
What are employers and industry groups doing?
The AGC/NCCER survey describes employers using pay increases, training and professional development, in-person craft instruction, outreach to schools and career programs, and more structured onboarding. These are reported responses, not proof that any single measure closes a labor gap.
The groups also call for greater support for construction education, career and technical education, apprenticeships and lawful work pathways. The Alliance report announcement describes a coalition of employers backing research and workforce initiatives. These approaches operate on different timelines: pay and onboarding can affect an employer’s current hiring and retention, while expanding training and apprenticeship capacity takes time to develop.
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What should prospective trades workers take from the findings?
The evidence points to meaningful demand across skilled trades, but it does not guarantee a job or show that every occupation offers the same outlook, pay, entry requirements or working conditions. Candidates should check local employer openings and the specific education, apprenticeship, certification or licensing requirements for the trade and jurisdiction they are considering. The survey’s hiring difficulties also suggest that completing training and demonstrating job-ready skills can matter as much as the number of advertised openings.
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