Interest among younger people to become construction workers is on the upside, according to a new survey, animated in no small part by the average $41,000 to $52,000 salaries that are now a part of the industry.
The survey, conducted by the National Association of Home Builders, reveals that among respondents upwards of 6% said they would like to join the industry, up from the 3% recorded in a similar survey a decade ago.
While that 3% may not seem like much, it stands out in a list of career choice options showing that an average of 2% each would like to get into the respective fields of teaching, engineering, and the law.
And while everyone may have at one point imagined themselves on the stage, only 2% said they would consider a career in the performing arts.
The survey of 18- to 25-year-olds, notes an NAHB narrative, “occurs in a period when the impact of technology and changing economic conditions” are prompting young people to question their career choices.
That uncertainty is particularly seen in two figures, with 74% in 2016 saying they already knew the field they intended to get into versus the 65% saying the same today.
Among those expressing an interest in joining the construction field, 73% said they were animated by the high salaries offered today in the industry. Other selling points: obtaining useful skills, working outside, and the simple fact that the jobs offered don’t generally require a college degree.
While some 63% in a separate question indicated that they would be reluctant to embrace a career in the trades in 2016, the most recent survey puts that figure at a smaller 51%. At the same time a decade ago only 18% said they would consider entering the trades “if compensation were high enough,” a figure that is now up to 30%.
Among those who said they would almost certainly not consider a job in construction, 45% candidly admitted that they want to secure a “less physically demanding job,” with 20% agreeing with the statement: “Construction work is difficult.”
April 27, 2026
By Garry Boulard
Photo courtesy of Pixabay
