States and Construction Trades Most Reliant on Immigrant Workers

According to the government’s system for classifying occupations, the construction industry employs workers in about 380 occupations. Out of these, only 33 are construction trades, yet they account for almost two thirds of the construction labor force. The other one-third of workers are in finance, sales, administration and other off-site activities.

The concentration of immigrants is particularly high in construction trades essential for home building, such as plasterers and stucco masons (64%), drywall/ceiling tile installers (52%), painters (48%), roofers (47%), carpet/floor/tile installers (46%). The two most prevalent construction occupations, laborers and carpenters, account for over a quarter of the construction labor force. A third of all carpenters and 41% of construction laborers are of foreign-born origin. These trades require less formal education but consistently register some of the highest labor shortages in the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) surveys and NAHB Remodeling Market Index (RMI).Read the full article here