Arizona Construction Workers Older Than Overall Labor Force
New data confirms what the building industry has been saying: the construction workforce is aging faster than the overall labor force.
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) compared the latest labor numbers compiled by the Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey. It found the share of construction workers under the age of 25 was 9% in 2018, compared to 12.3% of the overall labor force.
The share of workers 55 years and older was nearly 22% in 2018, up from nearly 17% in 2010. At the same time the proportion of 25-to-54 year olds dropped from 74.6 percent to 69.3 percent. As more Baby Boomers retire, there will be a smaller pool to draw upon. That’s because Generation X, the group that follows Boomers is smaller.
In Arizona, NAHB said the median age of construction workers is 42 to 43, which is three years older than the overall workforce median age. Only Texas and Nebraska reported median ages of construction workers below the median of their state’s overall workforce.
Younger construction workers are more likely to be in positions the industry identifies as helpers, roofers and fence erectors, while older workers are concentrated in supervisory and managerial positions.
