This briefing compiles verified U.S. workforce data for the four core home-services trades: electricians, plumbers, HVAC mechanics, and roofers. Every figure is sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) or named industry bodies, with the reference year and geography attached. The data matters because demand for skilled trades is rising while the existing workforce ages toward retirement, and the gap between hiring need and available labor is now measured in the hundreds of thousands of workers per year.

Executive Summary

• Electricians held about 818,700 jobs in the United States in 2024, with employment projected to grow 9 percent from 2024 to 2034, much faster than the average for all occupations. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2024-2034.
• The median annual wage for electricians was $62,350 in May 2024 (U.S.). Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2024.
• Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters held about 504,500 jobs in 2024, with a median annual wage of $62,970 in May 2024 (U.S.). Source: BLS OEWS and Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2024.
• Heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers held about 425,200 jobs in 2024, earning a median of $59,810 in May 2024 (U.S.). Source: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook and OEWS, 2024.
• Roofers held about 166,700 jobs in 2024 with a median annual wage of $50,970 in May 2024 (U.S.). Source: BLS OEWS and Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2024.
• The construction industry needs to attract an estimated 349,000 net new workers in 2026 to meet demand, following an estimated 439,000 in 2025. Source: Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), January 2026 and January 2025.
• The median age of the construction labor force was 42 in 2023, one year older than the typical U.S. worker. Source: National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) analysis of the 2023 American Community Survey.
• Women represented 11.2 percent of the total U.S. construction workforce in 2024, the highest share in two decades, but only about 4 percent of construction and extraction trade occupations. Source: NAHB and Institute for Women’s Policy Research, 2024.

Key Findings

• Across the four core home-services trades, BLS projects roughly 180,000 combined annual openings: about 81,000 for electricians, 44,000 for plumbers/pipefitters/steamfitters, 42,500 for HVAC mechanics, and 12,700 for roofers, on average per year over 2024-2034 (U.S.). Source: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2024-2034.
• Electrician employment is projected to grow 9 percent from 2024 to 2034 (U.S.), with about 81,000 openings projected each year on average. Source: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2024-2034.
• Plumber, pipefitter, and steamfitter employment is projected to grow 4 percent from 2024 to 2034 (U.S.), with about 44,000 openings projected each year. Source: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2024-2034.
• HVAC mechanic and installer employment is projected to grow about 9 percent from 2023 to 2033 (U.S.), with roughly 42,500 openings projected each year. Source: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook.
• Roofer employment is projected to grow 6 percent from 2024 to 2034 (U.S.), with about 12,700 openings projected each year. Source: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2024-2034.
• The median annual wage for electricians ($62,350) and plumbers ($62,970) in May 2024 exceeded the U.S. all-occupation median, while roofers ($50,970) sat below it. Source: BLS OEWS, May 2024.
• The lowest 10 percent of roofers earned less than $37,060 and the highest 10 percent earned more than $80,780 in May 2024 (U.S.). Source: BLS OEWS, May 2024.
• The median age of the construction labor force held at 42 in 2023 (U.S.), with the share of prime-age workers aged 25 to 54 falling to 67.3 percent from 72 percent in 2015. Source: NAHB Eye on Housing, 2023 ACS analysis.
• Baby Boomers made up about 14.2 percent of the construction labor force as of 2023 (U.S.), signaling a large cohort approaching retirement. Source: NAHB analysis of 2023 ACS data.
• ABC attributes a majority of 2026 new-worker demand to retirements rather than to increased construction activity (U.S.). Source: Associated Builders and Contractors, January 2026.
• ABC projects the construction industry must attract 456,000 net new workers in 2027 (U.S.) as spending growth resumes. Source: Associated Builders and Contractors, January 2026.
• Women numbered about 1.34 million in the U.S. construction industry in 2024, surpassing pre-2008-recession levels, yet remained roughly 4 percent of trade occupations. Source: Institute for Women’s Policy Research, 2024.
• The overall U.S. economy is projected to add 5.2 million jobs from 2024 to 2034, a 3.1 percent increase, much slower than the 13.0 percent recorded over 2014-2024. Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2024-2034.

Employment and Wages by Trade

The four trades differ sharply in size and pay, but all four are projected to grow at or above the all-occupation average through the next decade. The figures below come from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program (wages, reference period May 2024) and the Occupational Outlook Handbook (employment counts and projections).

Electricians are the largest of the four trades, with about 818,700 jobs in 2024 (U.S.). Source: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2024. Their median annual wage was $62,350 in May 2024 (U.S.). Source: BLS OEWS, May 2024. This combination of scale and above-median pay makes electrician shortages especially consequential for home-services demand.

Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters held about 504,500 jobs in 2024 (U.S.) and earned a median of $62,970 in May 2024 (U.S.). Source: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook and OEWS, 2024. This trade carries the highest median wage of the four but the slowest projected growth, at 4 percent from 2024 to 2034.

HVAC mechanics and installers held about 425,200 jobs in 2024 (U.S.), with a median annual wage of $59,810 in May 2024 (U.S.). Source: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook and OEWS, 2024. HVAC growth is among the strongest of the four trades, supported by equipment replacement cycles and rising cooling demand.

Roofers are the smallest of the four, with about 166,700 jobs in 2024 (U.S.) and a median annual wage of $50,970 in May 2024 (U.S.). Source: BLS OEWS and Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2024. Roofing pay sits below the other three trades, which compounds recruitment difficulty in a physically demanding occupation.

Sources for table: BLS OEWS (May 2024 wages) and BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook (employment, growth, openings). HVAC growth and openings reflect the 2023-2033 projection vintage referenced in BLS materials; readers should note the mixed projection base year for HVAC versus the 2024-2034 base for the other three trades.

The Hiring Gap

Industry estimates of the construction hiring gap are produced annually by Associated Builders and Contractors using a model that ties construction labor demand to spending forecasts and historical labor-to-spending ratios. These are projections, not headcounts, and the figure moves with the economic outlook.

ABC estimated the construction industry needed to attract 439,000 net new workers in 2025 (U.S.) to meet demand. Source: Associated Builders and Contractors, January 2025. For 2026, ABC lowered the estimate to 349,000 net new workers (U.S.) amid macroeconomic headwinds including high materials prices and slower spending. Source: Associated Builders and Contractors, January 2026.

ABC projects the requirement rises again to 456,000 net new workers in 2027 (U.S.) as construction spending growth resumes. Source: Associated Builders and Contractors, January 2026. ABC’s chief economist attributes a majority of 2026 demand to retirements rather than to new construction activity, underscoring that the gap is driven by workforce aging as much as by growth.

Source for table: Associated Builders and Contractors news releases, January 2025 and January 2026. These are demand estimates for the entire construction sector, not for the four home-services trades alone.

An Aging Workforce

The shortage is structurally tied to the age profile of the existing workforce. As experienced tradespeople retire, replacement demand accounts for a large share of total openings, which is why BLS separations now exceed pure growth in driving annual openings for most trades.

The median age of the construction labor force was 42 in 2023 (U.S.), one year above the typical U.S. worker. Source: NAHB analysis of the 2023 American Community Survey. The share of prime-age workers aged 25 to 54 fell to 67.3 percent in 2023 from 72 percent in 2015 (U.S.). Source: NAHB Eye on Housing, 2023.

Baby Boomers represented about 14.2 percent of the construction labor force as of 2023 (U.S.), a cohort now reaching retirement age. Source: NAHB analysis of 2023 ACS data. Because BLS projects that occupational openings come primarily from workers leaving the occupation rather than from net new jobs, this aging profile is the central driver of the annual opening counts shown above.

The Talent Pipeline

The trades have historically relied on registered apprenticeship to train new workers, and construction remains one of the largest apprenticeship sectors. Pipeline data is reported by the U.S. Department of Labor and by industry bodies, and not all categories are reported on the same basis, so comparisons require care.

Women represented 11.2 percent of the total U.S. construction workforce in 2024, the highest share in two decades, but only about 4 percent of construction and extraction trade occupations. Source: NAHB and Institute for Women’s Policy Research, 2024. About 1.34 million women worked in U.S. construction fields in 2024, surpassing pre-2008-recession levels. Source: Institute for Women’s Policy Research, 2024.

Electricians, carpenters, and plumbers remain among the most common registered apprenticeship occupations in the United States. Source: U.S. Department of Labor / White House Council of Economic Advisers, 2024. The persistent gap between the roughly 180,000 combined annual openings across the four core trades and the available pipeline of new entrants is the operational definition of the shortage.

Original Synthesis

The following insights are derived by combining the verified public datasets above. Each derivation is shown so readers can reproduce it, and limitations are stated.

1. Combined annual opening demand across the four core trades. Adding the BLS average annual openings for the four trades (81,000 electricians + 44,000 plumbers/pipefitters/steamfitters + 42,500 HVAC + 12,700 roofers) yields roughly 180,200 projected openings per year over the projection decade (U.S.). Inputs: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2024-2034 (and 2023-2033 for HVAC). Limitation: the HVAC figure uses a different projection base year than the other three, so the sum mixes vintages and should be read as an order-of-magnitude estimate.

2. Wage spread across the trades. Comparing May 2024 OEWS medians, plumbers ($62,970) earned about 23.5 percent more than roofers ($50,970), a gap of $12,000 per year (U.S.). Inputs: BLS OEWS, May 2024. Limitation: medians do not capture overtime, benefits, union versus non-union differences, or regional cost of living, all of which materially affect take-home pay.

3. Replacement-driven shortage ratio. Electricians show roughly 81,000 average annual openings against a 2024 base of 818,700 jobs, implying turnover-plus-growth equal to about 9.9 percent of the workforce each year (U.S.). Inputs: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2024-2034. Limitation: openings include both growth and separations (workers exiting the occupation or labor force), so this ratio is not a vacancy rate and should not be read as unfilled positions.

Charts to build

• Median wage by trade, May 2024. Data: OEWS medians for the four trades. Source: BLS OEWS, May 2024. Insight: plumbers and electricians cluster near $62,000-63,000 while roofers trail by about $12,000. Citation-worthy because it ranks the trades on a single authoritative pay metric.
• Projected average annual openings by trade, 2024-2034. Data: OOH average annual openings. Source: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook. Insight: electricians dominate opening demand, accounting for nearly half of the four-trade total. Citation-worthy as a clean demand-ranking visual.
• Construction hiring gap by year, 2025-2027. Data: ABC net-new-worker estimates. Source: Associated Builders and Contractors. Insight: the gap dips in 2026 then rebounds in 2027, showing sensitivity to the spending cycle. Citation-worthy because it shows the shortage is not monotonic.
• Aging of the construction workforce, 2015 vs 2023. Data: prime-age share (72% to 67.3%) and median age. Source: NAHB / ACS. Insight: the prime-age core is shrinking, quantifying the retirement risk. Citation-worthy as the structural-cause chart.
• Women’s share: total construction vs trades occupations, 2024. Data: 11.2% overall vs ~4% in trades. Source: NAHB / IWPR. Insight: the underrepresentation in hands-on trade roles is far steeper than the headline figure suggests. Citation-worthy for the diversity-pipeline story.

Inline chart, median annual wage by trade (May 2024, U.S., BLS OEWS):

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024. Bar lengths are scaled proportionally to wage.

Methodology

Sources were selected by priority: primary government data first (BLS OEWS for wages, the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook and Employment Projections for employment and openings), then named industry bodies (Associated Builders and Contractors, NAHB) and a nonpartisan research institute (Institute for Women’s Policy Research). Wage figures use the OEWS May 2024 reference period and are national medians unless stated. Employment counts and projections use the BLS 2024-2034 projection cycle, except HVAC, where available BLS material referenced the 2023-2033 vintage; this is flagged wherever the HVAC figure appears. Where two figures conflicted, the BLS OEWS or OOH value was used as authoritative; for example, the plumber median was confirmed at $62,970 rather than alternative values circulating in secondary sources. Derived estimates in the Original Synthesis section are simple sums and ratios of the cited inputs, shown in full. No figure was included unless it could be traced to a named source with a year and geography. Last updated June 2026.

Source Quality

Tier 1 (primary government and official statistics): U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics; BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook; BLS Employment Projections; BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey; U.S. Department of Labor apprenticeship reporting.

Tier 2 (credible trade bodies and research institutes): Associated Builders and Contractors; National Association of Home Builders; Institute for Women’s Policy Research.

Tier 3 (reputable journalism and commentary citing primary data): Construction Dive and LBM Journal coverage of ABC releases, used only to corroborate Tier 1 and Tier 2 figures.

Most Quotable Statistics

• Electricians held about 818,700 jobs in 2024, with employment projected to grow 9 percent through 2034 (U.S., BLS).
• The construction industry must attract an estimated 349,000 net new workers in 2026 (U.S., ABC).
• The median age of the construction labor force was 42 in 2023 (U.S., NAHB/ACS).
• The four core home-services trades face roughly 180,000 combined projected openings per year (U.S., BLS OOH).
• Women were 11.2 percent of the construction workforce in 2024 but only about 4 percent of trade occupations (U.S., NAHB/IWPR).

Data Limitations

OEWS wages are medians and exclude benefits, overtime, and union differentials, so they understate total compensation for many workers. The HVAC projection cited here uses a 2023-2033 base year while the other three trades use 2024-2034, so cross-trade growth comparisons are not perfectly aligned. ABC hiring-gap figures are model-based demand estimates for the entire construction sector, not headcounts and not specific to the four trades. NAHB age and gender figures derive from the American Community Survey and cover construction broadly rather than the four home-services trades in isolation. Average annual openings combine growth and separations and are not vacancy or unfilled-job rates.

Recommended Dataset Fields

For a downloadable CSV, recommended columns: trade_name; soc_code; median_annual_wage_usd; wage_reference_period; employment_count; employment_year; projected_growth_percent; projection_period; avg_annual_openings; pct10_wage; pct90_wage; source_name; source_url.

Press Summary

U.S. home-services trades face a widening labor gap driven less by new construction than by an aging workforce. Bureau of Labor Statistics data show electricians (818,700 jobs in 2024, median pay $62,350), plumbers (504,500 jobs, $62,970), HVAC mechanics (425,200 jobs, $59,810), and roofers (166,700 jobs, $50,970), with combined projected openings of roughly 180,000 per year over the next decade. Associated Builders and Contractors estimates the construction industry must attract 349,000 net new workers in 2026, after 439,000 in 2025, and projects 456,000 in 2027. The median age of the construction labor force stood at 42 in 2023, and the prime-age share fell to 67.3 percent from 72 percent in 2015, per NAHB analysis of Census data. Women reached 11.2 percent of the construction workforce in 2024 but remain about 4 percent of trade occupations, a sign the recruitment pipeline has room to widen. All figures are U.S. national unless noted.

Suggested Headlines

• Skilled Trades Labor Shortage in Numbers: 180,000 Openings a Year Across Four Home-Services Trades
• The Trades Are Aging: Construction’s Median Worker Is 42 and the Pipeline Is Not Keeping Up
• Electricians, Plumbers, HVAC, Roofers: What BLS Wage and Employment Data Reveal in 2026
• Construction Needs 349,000 New Workers in 2026, and Most of It Is About Retirements
• Women Are 11 Percent of Construction but Only 4 Percent of the Trades

FAQ

How many electricians work in the United States? Electricians held about 818,700 jobs in 2024 (U.S.). Source: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2024.

What is the median wage for a plumber? The median annual wage for plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters was $62,970 in May 2024 (U.S.). Source: BLS OEWS, May 2024.

How fast is HVAC employment growing? Heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanic and installer employment is projected to grow about 9 percent from 2023 to 2033 (U.S.). Source: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook.

How much do roofers earn? The median annual wage for roofers was $50,970 in May 2024 (U.S.), with the top 10 percent earning more than $80,780. Source: BLS OEWS, May 2024.

How many new construction workers are needed in 2026? ABC estimates the construction industry must attract 349,000 net new workers in 2026 (U.S.). Source: Associated Builders and Contractors, January 2026.

How old is the average construction worker? The median age of the construction labor force was 42 in 2023 (U.S.). Source: NAHB analysis of the 2023 American Community Survey.

How many job openings will electricians have each year? About 81,000 openings for electricians are projected each year, on average, over 2024-2034 (U.S.). Source: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook.

What share of the trades are women? Women were 11.2 percent of the total construction workforce in 2024 but only about 4 percent of construction and extraction trade occupations (U.S.). Source: NAHB and Institute for Women’s Policy Research, 2024.

How many plumbers work in the United States? Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters held about 504,500 jobs in 2024 (U.S.). Source: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2024.

Is the overall job market growing as fast as the trades? No. Total U.S. employment is projected to grow 3.1 percent from 2024 to 2034, slower than the 9 percent projected for electricians and HVAC mechanics. Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2024-2034.

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