We are seeing an interesting paradox in the construction industry in 2026. Costs continue to rise, skilled trades are in short supply, and some segments of the market have softened while others like data centers and infrastructure are speeding up. Turner & Townsend’s latest U.S. construction outlook suggests national bid price escalation is forecast at 4.25% in 2026, well above historical norms, with tariffs and labor driving cost pressure.
Add to all this, aging infrastructure and an aging workforce and it is the perfect storm of needing to modernize buildings and infrastructure, with limited people to do the work.
This is especially the case in the trades. Last year, nearly 600,000 jobs were posted for major skilled trades positions in the United States and only about 150,000 new workers entered the labor pool through apprenticeship programs, according to JLL. Looking to the future, by 2030, an estimated 2.1 million skilled trades positions for electricians, HVAC technicians, plumbers, pipefitters, construction equipment operators, general maintenance workers and more could go unfilled, according to JLL.
Potential economic losses could reach $1 trillion annually, according to the U.S. Dept. of Education, meaning this shortfall of skilled trades workers poses substantial risks to business continuity and economic resilience. Also, for every five workers who retire from construction, manufacturing, and other skilled trades sectors, only two replacements enter the workforce.
This isn’t just a numbers game. Consider where we will see the uptick in work, like data centers. Here electricians will need to deploy high-capacity electrical generation and distribution with massive, redundantly powered backup systems where a single error can cause million-dollar outages, while HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) technicians maintain high-volume ventilation and high-efficiency air conditioning that support both air-cooled and liquid-cooled infrastructure.
Without significant investment in workforce development, the gap between labor supply and construction demand will continue to widen, putting pressure on project costs and schedules.
The JLL research suggests a build-grow-retain approach:
- Build talent pipelines through strategic educational partnerships
- Grow capabilities with continuous upskilling on emerging building systems
- Retain top performers through structured career pathways and high-performance workplace cultures
The construction industry must take the first steps. Addressing the skilled trades shortage will require a coordinated, long-term effort among industry, academia, government, associations, and more industry partners. This will need to include workforce development, apprenticeships, trade school partnerships, standardized training, productivity through new technologies, new strategies to broaden the talent pool, and policy support, among other efforts. Without a multifaceted approach, labor constraints will continue. The time to put a plan in place is now.
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