The United States now has a skilled trade labor shortage of around 650,000 people, but among them it’s carpenters who top the list. Where have they all gone? We break it down to three reasons.

Cheddar Explains

Why America Is Running Out Of Carpenters

America has a carpenter problem. We've had a regular shortage as far back as the 19 forties. In fact, there have only been two significant reprieves for construction as a whole. Since then the 2008 great recession and the 2020 pandemic. But in 2022 as american home construction approaches pre 2008 levels, It's all coming to a head across all the construction fields. There's an estimated shortage of some 650,000 trades people, but it was specifically carpenters above all that topped the National Association of Homebuilders 2021 list of subcontractors that are in short supply builders just can't find them and it would be even worse if it wasn't for the pandemic fueled supply issues. So of all the skilled trades, why carpentry? What are the main culprits for carpentry is falling appeal. Where have they all gone? We can break down the mass exodus down to three reasons, compensation certification and early retirement. The median annual income in the carpenter is just over $48,000. That's significantly less than boilermakers, plumbers, brick masons and electricians Ethan, James the man behind the Youtube channel. The honest carpenter says low pay is a result of the long hours needed to do the job. Our trade as opposed to many of the other trades is a high, our volume job farmers are often in and out. That's a repair many of those repairs occur in a day. But carpenters a deck or something like that is going to translate into hundreds of labor hours, it's gonna be tricky for your car partner to demand 90 an hour if they're gonna be there for 300 hours or something, depending on the complexity of the job. But the nation's lack of qualified carpenters is part of a bigger trend. In 2021 Stanley, black and decker and KRC research Sould to 800 high schoolers, 200 parents and 500 workers in skilled trade professions. The survey found that the majority of young people have favorable views of the skilled trades, but that many believed that the starting pay was even less than what it actually is. So not only is carpentry one of the lowest paying skilled labor jobs, but the public thinks that the pay is even lower than it actually is. We've kind of been beating it down for so long and making it seem like a dead end path or career more like a punishment is how I see it. Like if you mess up, you're gonna have to build stuff, certifications and licenses or lack thereof. Also play a big role in carpenters pay to become an electrician or plumber. In most states, you need a certification or license to practice carpentry, however, has less rigid standards, Ethan James worries that when just about anyone can call themselves a carpenter, it may lose its meaning and value. If you're in north Carolina with me, you can put a tool belt on and say, I'm a professional carpenter and advertise yourself as a professional carpenter. There's not a lot of red tape, you have no way of knowing what the breadth of their experiences or what they're qualified to handle. I mean these days everybody's level of carpentry experience is like 100 The pandemic spurred a lot of early retirees in the carpentry field. Suddenly a large group of them was gone according to the associated builders and contractors. The average age of retirement for construction workers is 61 Today, a staggering 1/5 of the current workforce is over the age of 55. There's a fear that in the next 10 years the majority of the remaining carpenters will retire and will be left with even fewer. We're losing them. We're not replacing them. We're also losing their knowledge base, which is just as important because we're not seeing the kind of information transfer from the older generation to the younger generation that we've had essentially for every generation in human history for thousands of years. For the first time ever we're not getting it. There is some hope though, in our high schools, According to the Department of Education, there was a major dip in construction class enrollment in American high schools from 2007 to 2017. The past few years though have shown a rise in interest once again, some attribute this to social media and reality television programs centered around homes and general construction. The carpenter's with these accounts, inject humor and personalities into their educational fix it yourself videos. Like many things in America, the future of carpentry depends on its youth. My dad always said when I was young, doctors will always be necessary because people will always get sick. Like carpenters are just doctors for houses and houses will always get sick too, so carpenters will always be necessary.