TL;DR
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The September 2026 NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index survey found shortages had increased in 14 of 16 homebuilding trades compared with April 2025. Across nine trades tracked consistently since 1996, 47% of builders reported a labor shortage, and the median labor-cost increase for the same home over 12 months was 4.2%.
Labor shortages in homebuilding rose across 14 of 16 trades in the September 2026 NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index survey compared with April 2025, while builders reported a 4.2% median increase in labor costs over the prior 12 months. The findings point to renewed workforce pressure even as August housing starts were below a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.3 million, according to the report published by Hardware Retailing.
The survey asked builders whether they faced serious or some shortage in 16 specific trades. Reported shortages ranged from 33% for excavators and building maintenance managers to 58% for finished-carpentry workers. Shortage reports for plumbers and HVAC workers were unchanged from April 2025, at 45% and 43%, respectively; the other 14 trades recorded at least a slight increase.
The largest increases were among framing crews, where the shortage share rose 9 percentage points to 57%; landscaping workers, up 7 points to 39%; and roofers, up 6 points to 36%. These figures measure builders’ reports of labor availability, not the number of unfilled jobs or workers missing from the industry.
Across the nine trades tracked consistently since 1996, 47% of builders reported shortages in September, compared with 42% in April 2025. Builders also reported a median 4.2% increase in labor costs for the same home over the preceding 12 months. The source does not provide a breakdown of that cost figure by trade or region.
Labor Pressure Meets Slower Starts
The results suggest builders are facing more difficulty finding workers while also paying more for labor. In practice, those pressures can affect the cost and pace of residential construction, although the survey does not quantify their effect on home prices, project delays, or the number of homes completed.
The comparison with housing starts underscores the contrast. The report says the 47% shortage reading for the nine consistently tracked trades is higher than at any point during the 2004–2006 housing boom, when annual housing starts were consistently above 1.8 million. By comparison, August 2026 starts were below a 1.3 million seasonally adjusted annual rate. This comparison describes different measures: builders’ reported shortages and the annualized pace of starts. It does not establish that labor shortages alone explain construction levels.
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From Pandemic Declines to Renewed Shortages
Reported residential construction labor shortages peaked during the COVID-19 pandemic, then declined consistently from 2022 through 2025, according to the report. The September 2026 survey marks a reversal in that trend: shortages rose in most of the trades compared with the previous survey cited, conducted in April 2025.
The longer-term comparison covers only nine trades tracked consistently since 1996; the survey also asked about seven additional trades. That distinction matters when comparing the 47% figure with past years. The source reports builders’ responses and does not identify specific causes for the renewed rise, such as changes in worker supply, demand, wages, or regional conditions.
Causes and Local Effects Remain Unclear
The survey results do not explain why shortages increased or show whether the trend is uniform across regions, builder sizes, or project types. The supplied report also does not provide the survey sample size, detailed methodology, or margins of error, so those cannot be assessed here.
It is also unclear how much the reported labor-cost increase will affect construction budgets, home prices, schedules, or future building activity. The 4.2% figure is the median increase reported for labor on the same home over 12 months; it is not an overall measure of homebuilding cost inflation.
Builders Await the Next Survey
The next useful indicator will be whether a subsequent NAHB/Wells Fargo HMI survey shows shortages continuing to rise or easing across the tracked trades. Updated housing-start figures can also help readers compare reported workforce conditions with building activity, but neither measure alone identifies the causes of changes in construction.
For now, the September survey establishes a rise from April 2025 in reported shortages across most trades and a median 4.2% labor-cost increase over the prior year. Further details about regional differences and the effect on project costs or delivery timelines are not provided in the source material.
Key Questions
Which homebuilding trade had the highest reported shortage?
Finished-carpentry workers had the highest reported shortage share, at 58%, in the September 2026 survey.
Which trades saw the biggest increases in reported shortages?
Framing crews rose 9 percentage points to 57%, landscaping workers rose 7 points to 39%, and roofers rose 6 points to 36% compared with April 2025.
How much did builders say labor costs increased?
The median reported increase in labor costs for the same home over the previous 12 months was 4.2%. The report does not provide a regional or trade-specific breakdown.
Does the survey explain why shortages rose?
No. The reported findings show changes in builders’ assessments of labor availability, but the source does not identify the causes or quantify effects on home prices, construction schedules, or completions.
Source: rss
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