Immigrant labor has reshaped the U.S. construction workforce

The U.S. construction industry has undergone a major demographic shift: immigrant labor now makes up a far larger share of workers, a change that is especially visible among roofers in places such as Southern California. Data and interviews in The New York Times describe how falling union membership, eroding wages and weaker working conditions made construction less attractive to American-born workers, and how immigrant labor filled the gap.

Today the industry contains about 6.8 million workers, the share of foreign-born workers in construction is nearly twice as high as in other jobs, and many of those workers are not naturalized citizens and some are undocumented. Union representation has declined since the 1970s — construction was 40 percent unionized in 1973 and, as of 2024, nine of 10 construction workers are nonunion — and average wages for union and nonunion construction workers have fallen relative to the average American worker.

The shift has left the sector vulnerable to immigration enforcement. The article says builders report labor shortages as some workers are detained or deported and others stay home amid raids, contributing to a national shortfall of about 300,000 construction workers and an estimated housing shortage of roughly 1.5 million to 5 million homes.

Key Topics

Politics, Construction Industry, Immigrant Labor, Unions, Mass Deportation, Housing Shortage