Diversifying the construction labor force remains a key priority amid persistent skilled labor shortages. According to the 2023 American Community Survey, non-Hispanic White workers still account for the majority of the construction industry at 57%. Hispanic workers now represent nearly one-third of the labor force at 32%, followed by non-Hispanic Black workers at 5% and non-Hispanic Asian workers at 1.8%.  The most notable trend in construction labor force has been the steady rise of Hispanic participation. Between 2010 and 2023, the number of Hispanic workers in construction increased from 2.5 million to almost 3.8 million. Over the same period, their share of the labor force climbed from 23.6% to 32%, meaning that nearly one in three construction workers today is Hispanic.  Hispanics workers comprise a larger share in the construction than the broader economy, making up 31.9% of the construction labor force compared with 19.2 % across all industries. Non-Hispanic White workers account for 57.5% of the construction labor force, about the same as their share across all industries at 58.3%. Black and Asian workers, by contrast, remain underrepresented in construction. The share of Hispanic workers varies widely across states. In Maine, only 1% of workers in construction are Hispanic, while in New Mexico, Texas, California, and Nevada, more than half the construction labor force is Hispanic. Overall, Hispanic construction workers are most concentrated in the South and West, where Hispanic populations are larger. Just three states—Texas with 803,000 workers, California with 772,000, and Florida with 374,000—together employ 52% of the nation’s Hispanic construction labor force. New Mexico leads in proportional terms, with 64% of its construction labor force identifying as Hispanic, followed by Texas at 61% and California at 59%.  In the Northeast, the construction industry remains dominated by non-Hispanic White workers. In New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine, they account for more than 90% of the labor force. Non-Hispanic Black workers make up only 5% of construction labor force nationwide, compared with nearly 12% across all industries, though their shares are much higher in Mississippi at 18%, Louisiana at 17%, and Maryland at 14%. Non-Hispanic Asian workers account for less than 2% of the construction labor force overall, though they are a significant presence in Hawaii, where they comprise 29% of construction labor force. Discover more from Eye On Housing Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

The share of minority-owned new residential builders and remodelers has more than doubled since the Great Recession, with noticeable gains from 2017 to 2022.  Nevertheless, when compared to the overall U.S. population, minority-owned firms continue to be underrepresented within both housing sectors. New Residential Builders Based on data from the Annual Business Survey (ABS) from the U.S. Census Bureau, 14% of new residential building firms1 were minority-owned in 2022.  The Census classifies firms as minority-owned if the owner with majority share (i.e., 51% or more of stock or equity in the business) identifies as “any race and ethnicity combination other than non-Hispanic and White.”  In 2007, when NAHB began tracking this data, only 6% of residential builders were minority-owned2. From 2017 to 2022, the number of minority-owned new residential builder firms increased 64%, from 4,938 to 9,965. Residential Remodelers The share of minority–owned residential remodeling firms3 also continues to rise, more than doubling from 8% in 2007 to 18% in 2022.  From 2017 to 2022, the number of minority-owned residential remodeling firms jumped by 91%, from 11,565 to 22,119. In contrast to the 14% of residential builders and 18% of residential remodelers that were minority-owned in 2022, around 40% of the overall U.S. population that year belonged to a racial minority group4. New residential building firms comprise of new single-family housing construction (NAICS: 236115), new multifamily housing construction (NAICS: 236116), and new housing for-sale builders (NAICS: 236117).Data for 2007 and 2012 within this blog post was taken from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Survey of Business Owners (SBO). The SBO was discontinued in 2012 and replaced by the ABS moving forward.NAICS: 236118Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 American Community Survey. Discover more from Eye On Housing Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.