More young adults between the ages of 18 and 25 are interested in a career in the construction trades, according to a new study conducted by the National Association of Home Builders.
Twice as many young adults are now interested in construction careers compared with a decade ago, with the share of those reporting interest climbing to 6%, up from 3% in 2016.
According to the survey data, young adults view competitive pay (73%) and the opportunity to develop useful skills (65%) as the biggest advantages of careers in the trades.
The demand for construction workers is certainly real. Realtor.com® estimates the nation has a housing shortage of more than 4 million units—a widening gap that is the major driver of the housing affordability crisis.
NAHB estimates that the construction industry will need 2.2 million new skilled construction workers over the next three years to keep pace with demand, growth, and workforce turnover.
“While this new research shows that more young adults have a positive attitude toward a career in the construction trades, many are still unaware that careers in the building trades offer workers well-paid jobs and opportunities for growth in one of the most in-demand industries in the nation,” NAHB Chairman Bill Owens said in a statement shared with Realtor.com.
The new survey found that 30% of young adults who are undecided about their career path would likely reconsider the trades if compensation was high enough, compared with just 18% 10 years ago.
And 52% of undecided adults aged 18 to 25 who in theory would not choose a career in the trades said they would in fact reconsider that position for the right paycheck.
May 2024 Bureau of Labor Statistics data, analyzed by NAHB, shows that half of construction workers on payroll earn over $60,320 annually, while the top quarter earn at least $81,510. Nationally, the median annual wage is $49,500, with the top 25% earning $78,810 or more.
“The skilled trades have unfairly been looked down upon as dirty jobs for the uneducated and less successful, but nothing could be further from the truth,” Paul Iaccarnino, director of the Building Trades Educational Benefit Fund, tells Realtor.com. “Not only do skilled union trades offer lucrative salaries, pensions, and full medical benefits from day one, but through apprenticeship programs, young people can come straight out of high school and immediately be put on a career path where they earn while they learn—giving them an advantage and a head start on achieving their goals.”
Increasing worry about AI impact on certain career paths
Among other factors, the rise of artificial intelligence is influencing young people’s career choices and contributing to increased interest in the trades, which may be more insulated from automation than certain kinds of knowledge work.
Patrick Murphy, founder and CEO of Togal.AI—an AI-powered construction software company—tells Realtor.com, “The price of knowledge is going to zero. AI is coming for many knowledge-based jobs, like CPAs, lawyers, and academics—while demand for skilled trades like plumbing, electrical, and construction continues to rise. All the jobs your parents told you to take are the ones most at risk.”
Murphy says there is a growing awareness that many traditional white-collar roles are becoming more automated. That uncertainty, he adds, is pushing some people toward the trades, where the work is physical, local, and more difficult to replace with AI.
At the same time, heavy investment in the physical infrastructure behind AI is also generating new demand within the trades, according to a recent survey.
New Randstad data shows that hiring in skilled trades is accelerating as AI infrastructure expands, with demand for robotics technicians up 107%, HVAC engineers up 67%, and construction roles up 30%.
In January, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang spoke out about the tech industry’s push to construct massive data centers, touting it as good news for the job market.
“This is the largest infrastructure buildout in human history,” Huang said to BlackRock CEO Larry Fink at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “That’s going to create a lot of jobs.”
Roofer Daniel Cabrera of Roof Direct San Antonio tells Realtor.com many of those jobs in the construction trades are AI-proof.
“A robot will not go climbing a roof in a San Antonio summer, remove 30 squares of storm-damaged shingles and install a new roof system according to code,” he says. “There’s one thing that robots will never do: physically skilled work. It needs people.”
Murphy says: “The numbers tell the story. There are about 3,000 data centers under construction on top of more than 4,000 already operating. That scale changes everything. It means sustained, significant demand for electricians, mechanical crews, fiber and low-voltage specialists, virtually the full spectrum of skilled trades. The question isn’t if the work is there, it’s whether we can train and scale people fast enough to actually keep up with it.”