NAHB Survey Cites Worker Shortages Remain Elevated

By Karen L. Edwards, RCS Editor.

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Remodeling Market Index (RMI) survey for the third quarter of 2018 showed that 59 percent of roofers reported shortages of workers.

In a recently released National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Remodeling Market Index (RMI) survey from 2018, roofing contractors reported that 19% are seeing a serious shortage of labor while 40% are seeing some labor shortage.  Interestingly, 41% shared that they were not experiencing any shortages.  In speaking to RCS Influencers, we have heard similar comments that the labor shortage is regional and sometimes even down to local areas experiencing different levels of workforce challenges. 

From the remodelers and subcontractor perspectives, according to NAHB’s Eye on Housing Report, they said they were lacking labor to perform finished or rough carpentry and half of the respondents categorized the shortage as ‘serious.’ The RMI is based on a quarterly survey of NAHB remodeler members that provide insights on current market conditions as well as future indicators for the remodeling market.

The RMI survey “collected information on 16 specific occupations that  were either specifically recommended by Home Builders Institute (NAHB’s workforce development arm) or that NAHB found to be particularly significant when tabulating Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a recent article on Young Adults & the Construction Trades.” Shortages were reported in 12 of the 16 categories.

Effects of the worker shortages are that remodelers and sub trades like roofing report they have to pay higher wages, which forces them to raise their pricing to their customers. They also struggle to complete projects on time. They also report having to turn down projects and losing profit on others.

One step in the right direction that may help ease some of the shortages is the approval of 30,000 additional H-2B visas. On May 6th, Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Kevin K. McAleenan announced that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Labor (DOL) will publish a joint rule making available an additional 30,000 H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker visas for Fiscal Year 2019. These supplemental H-2B visas are available only to returning workers who received an H-2B visa, or were otherwise granted H-2B status, during one of the last three fiscal years (FY 2016, 2017, or 2018), and availability is restricted by prioritizing only those businesses who would suffer irreparable harm without the additional workers.

We still have a lot of work to do. You can stay up to date with all that is happening in the roofing industry when you sign up for the RCS Week-in-Review enews.