The U.S. Home Service Labor Shortage
A look at the worker shortage in the U.S. home service industry and the role of immigration.
The Labor Shortage by the Numbers
$10.8B
Lost Each Year from Project Delays
500,000+
New Workers Needed in 2024
382,000
Open Construction Jobs Each Month
The U.S. home service industry has a major labor shortage because older workers are retiring and not enough younger workers are joining. This shortage slows down construction, makes housing more expensive, and hurts the economy.
Who Are Home Service Workers?
The workers in skilled trades are mostly men. Their age and ethnicity are different for each trade, which shows where workers are coming from.
Gender Breakdown by Trade
The workforce is over 85% male in these key trades. This shows the industry has not attracted many women, missing out on about half of the possible workforce.
Race and Ethnicity by Trade
Licensed trades like Plumbing, HVAC, and Electrical are mostly White. Other trades like Roofing and Painting depend more on Hispanic and Latino workers.
The Important Role of Immigrant Workers
Immigrant labor is essential to the U.S. construction industry. These workers are often in the most physically difficult jobs where shortages are the worst.
Immigrant Share of Construction
1 in 4
Construction Workers is an Immigrant
Immigrants are 18% of the total U.S. workforce, but they make up 25% of all construction workers and nearly one-third of skilled tradespeople.
Immigrant Share in Key Trades
The industry relies most on immigrant labor for jobs like roofing and drywall. Licensed trades like HVAC and plumbing have a smaller, but still significant, share of foreign-born workers.
The Financial Impact: Costs & Profit
The labor shortage doesn't just cause delays; it directly increases costs for home service businesses. Understanding these costs, known as Cost of Goods Sold (COGS), is key to running a healthy company.
Ideal Cost Breakdown of Revenue
For a profitable business, direct costs (labor and materials) should be less than half of total revenue, leaving enough to cover overhead and generate profit.
How Labor Shortages Increase Costs
Higher Wages
With fewer workers available, businesses must pay more to attract and keep skilled technicians. This directly increases the "Direct Labor" portion of costs.
Recruitment Costs
Finding qualified workers takes time and money. Businesses spend more on job ads, recruiters, and signing bonuses.
Overtime Pay
To keep up with demand, existing crews have to work more hours, leading to expensive overtime pay that inflates job costs.
U.S. Law vs. Industry Need
66,000
H-2B Visas Per Year
The main visa for temporary workers is capped at a number that is far too low to meet the demand from employers.
500,000+
Workers Needed Per Year
The huge gap between the number of visas and the number of workers needed encourages the use of undocumented labor.
How Construction Workflows Depend on Immigrants
Immigrant and U.S.-born workers do jobs that depend on each other. Removing immigrant workers doesn't create jobs for Americans—it loses jobs for them by stopping projects.
Step 1: Foundational Work
(Roofing, Drywall, Masonry)
Done mostly by immigrants
Step 2: Licensed Work
(Plumbing, Electrical, HVAC)
Done mostly by U.S.-born workers
Project Finished
More Housing Available
Economy Grows
If Step 1 is disrupted, the entire chain stops. This leads to canceled projects and job losses for the U.S.-born workers in Step 2.