Residential Building Workers See Slowing Wage Growth
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that average hourly earnings (AHE) for residential building workers in production and non-supervisory positions rose in August to $29.32, however, this reflects a slower wage growth than seen in 2021.
Although wages continue to rise, the annual rate of growth has slowed during the past year to 3%. The recent housing slowdown indicates employers are cautious about hiring amid a slowing economy and rising interest rates despite the high labor demand.
The rise of AHE for residential building workers was 16.8% higher than manufacturing’s AHE of $25.11, 10.8% higher than transportation and warehousing ($26.47) and 11.5% lower than mining and logging ($33.14).
Since the COVID-19 pandemic recession, AHE has risen considerably for workers. The year-over-year growth of 8% in October 2021 was the highest rate since February 2019. Due to tighter monetary policy by the Federal Reserve, the construction labor market is cooling off as economic activity slows. However, there remain 407,000 open construction jobs.
Jing Fu, NAHB’s director of forecasting and analysis, provides more information in this Eye on Housing blog post.
Latest from NAHBNow
Membership
Dec 29, 2025
NAHB Mourns the Passing of Past Chairman John “Joe” RobsonJohn “Joe” Robson, 2009 NAHB chairman, passed away on Saturday, Dec. 27. As founder and president of The Robson Companies, Inc., Robson was a leader in the Tulsa, Okla., area home building and development industries for decades.
Economics | Membership
Dec 29, 2025
Last Chance to Complete the 2025 Census SurveyMembers will receive a final reminder this week from NAHB to complete our 2025 Builder and Associate Member Census. We encourage you to fill this survey out by Dec. 31, 2025, to help us better understand the composition and characteristics of the members who belong to our Federation.
Latest Economic News
Economics
Dec 22, 2025
State-Level Employment Situation: September 2025In September 2025, nonfarm payroll employment was largely unchanged across states on a monthly basis, with a limited number of states seeing statistically significant increases or decreases. This reflects generally stable job counts across states despite broader labor market fluctuations. The data were impacted by collection delays due to the federal government shutdown.
Economics
Dec 19, 2025
Existing Home Sales Edge Higher in NovemberExisting home sales rose for the third consecutive month in November as lower mortgage rates continued to boost home sales, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). However, the increase remained modest as mortgage rates still stayed above 6% while down from recent highs. The weakening job market also weighed on buyer activity.
Economics
Dec 18, 2025
Lumber Capacity Lower Midway Through 2025Sawmill production has remained essentially flat over the past two years, according to the Federal Reserve G.17 Industrial Production report. This most recent data release contained an annual revision, which resulted in higher estimates for both production and capacity in U.S. sawmills.