Construction Conundrum

In 2015, construction added 222,000 jobs, 9% of all new jobs, and behind only the retail, food, professional services and healthcare sectors, all of which are much bigger than construction. Thus, construction was the sector with the largest percentage employment growth in 2015 and Y-o-Y. Yet Y-o-Y construction wage growth has been just 2.2%, about average! Were there a real labor shortage, wage growth would have been significantly higher.