Americas Industrial Construction Cost Guide 2024

EMPLOYMENT

Labor costs continue to apply upward pressure to construction costs in the U.S. Average hourly construction earnings of $35.42/hour increased 4.9% YOY as of March 2024, higher than the private earnings increase of 4.2%. The construction sector has been adding jobs at a faster pace (3.4% YOY) than the total employment sector (1.9% YOY). The nonresidential building sector has added positions at an even higher rate of 5.1% YOY; however, open positions continue to outpace hires. In 2023, there were 4.8% more positions than hires, and as of year-to-date 2024 (February), that rate has increased to 9.2%. Wages are expected to continue to trend higher in 2024 while this labor imbalance persists and will continue to apply upward pressure to costs.

KEY TAKEAWAY

A constrained labor market will continue to make filling open positions difficult, thereby increasing labor costs as companies compete to attract talent.

U.S. CONSTRUCTION JOB OPENINGS, HIRES AND QUIT RATES LABOR CONSTRAINTS IMPACT THE U.S. CONSTRUCTION SECTOR

800

700

600

500

400

300

200

In Thousands (SA)

100

0

Jul-21

Jul-18

Jul-19

Jul-22

Jul-23

Jan-21

Jan-18

Jul-20

Jan-19

Mar-21

Mar-18

Sep-21

Mar-19

Sep-18

Sep-19

Jan-22

Jan-23

Nov-21

May-21

Nov-18

Jan-24

May-18

Nov-19

May-19

Mar-22

Jan-20

Mar-23

Sep-22

Sep-23

Mar-20

Sep-20

Nov-22

May-22

Nov-23

May-23

Nov-20

May-20

Openings

Hires

Quits

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)

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Cushman & Wakefield