The lack of skilled construction workers is delaying the start of new projects, according to the Star Tribune. Unemployment rates in construction are 2.1 percent as Boomers retire and some construction employees found jobs elsewhere during the recession.
Plumbers, electricians, framers and heating and ventilation subcontractors are among top-demand skills. The average hourly pay is $31.33. But David Siegel, executive director of the Builders Association of the Twin Cities, said, with expanding building codes and regulation, “You’ve got to be sharp.”