Click here to download the BLS statistics for construction employees from 2003-2020.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) put out a “Statistics Spotlight” about U.S. construction employees covering 2003-2020. There is a lot of good information in this spotlight for employers looking to gain a better understanding on the changing demographics of the construction workforce. See below for some statistics of note to contractors:
- Among private wage and salary workers, union members had higher earnings than their non-union counterparts from 2003-2020.
- In 2020, the median usual weekly earnings for union members was $1,254 – $334 more than their non-union counterparts.
- From 2003-2020, the percentage of construction workers age 55+ nearly doubled from 11.5% to 22.7%.
- In 2020, woman accounted for about 1 out every 10 construction worker.
- In 2020, 30% of all construction workers were Hispanic. This was about a 10% increase from 2003, when 20.3% of all construction workers were Hispanic.
- 52.5 percent of painters and paperhangers were Hispanic in 2020.