The construction industry is missing roughly 350,000 workers every month. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg/Getty Images)
Joseph Kane, a fellow at Brookings Metro, said the shortage of skilled workers extends far beyond home building.
"Workforce development is not just a nice-to-do, but a must-do across the built environment. For housing, buildings, and other infrastructure systems (e.g. roads, water systems, etc.), it is crucial and mission-critical for employers to have a durable and dependable pipeline of talent," Kane said.
"Without this pipeline, employers are competing against each other for scarce talent, projects can run into delays, and additional uncertainties and costs may mount over time," added Kane, who studies the intersection between infrastructure and economic development.
The revelation comes as the U.S. grapples with a slew of housing challenges that, brick by brick and regulation by regulation, have helped contribute to today’s crisis.
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Experts point to three major forces doing the most damage: restrictive zoning, land-use barriers and financial policies that have choked supply and pushed prices out of reach.
Experts say rules and red tape are choking supply and driving up home prices across America. (Matthew Busch/Bloomberg/Getty Images)
Experts say the quickest path to easing the housing crunch is lowering interest rates and peeling back regulations that have stifled new construction. But without enough workers, they warn, even a more favorable policy environment won’t translate into the surge of new supply the market needs.
"Looking ahead, even as interest rates ease, labor constraints will remain a key bottleneck, meaning slower housing starts, elevated prices and continued affordability challenges in 2026 unless workforce development and skilled trades training accelerates," Brady added.
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Kane said the labor crunch is intensifying alongside rising material costs and broader economic headwinds.
"Having enough skilled workers is one of many considerations facing home builders and other developers in the coming year. The lack of certainty on this front is only adding to the uncertainties in the country's built environment, which can result in project delays, slower growth in new housing stock and downstream impacts on household affordability," Kane said.
Amanda covers the intersection of business and geopolitics for Fox News Digital.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/construction-labor-crunch-drives-up-costs-deepens-americas-housing-affordability-crisis