Skilled labor is getting more expensive, and the contracts prove it. Collective bargaining agreements settled in the first half of the year delivered an average 4.7% increase in wages, benefits, and other employer payments for union craft workers, according to the Construction Labor Research Council. That’s among the steepest raises the trades have seen in 15 years.
The driver isn’t complicated. There aren’t enough experienced workers to go around, and when demand outruns supply, the price goes up.
What the wage numbers say
The 4.7% figure covers total package, not just base pay, so it includes pension and health contributions along with the hourly rate. Forecasters expect craft wage growth to run in the 4 to 6% range through 2026, with the hottest markets pushing higher. Union journeymen in trades like carpentry, plumbing, and HVAC still earn meaningfully more than their non-union counterparts, a gap that reflects both bargaining leverage and the apprenticeship pipelines the halls run.
Why the raises stick this time
Wage bumps often fade when a boom cools. This cycle looks stickier, because the shortage is structural, not just cyclical. A large share of the current workforce is nearing retirement, and the trades haven’t recruited fast enough to replace them. That’s the same demographic squeeze pushing contractors toward productivity tools and, as covered in our look at exoskeletons on the jobsite, toward keeping veteran crews healthy enough to stay on the tools longer.
For contractors, richer labor agreements land straight in the bid. Higher wages lift direct cost, tighten margins on fixed-price work signed before the raise, and make accurate labor forecasting more valuable than it’s been in years. For workers, it’s the clearest payday the trades have offered in a long time, and the strongest recruiting pitch the halls have had to sell.
The open question is whether better pay pulls enough new people in to close the gap, or just prices the existing crews higher.