Wage growth for residential building workers moderated notably in 2025, reflecting a broader cooling in housing activity and construction labor demand. According to the latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), both nominal and real wages remained modest during the fourth quarter, signaling a shift from the rapid post-pandemic expansion to a slower-growth phase.
In nominal terms, average hourly earnings (AHE) for residential building workers rose to $39.63 in December 2025, up 3.3% from $38.37 a year ago. While this marked a modest acceleration from November’s 2.0% year-over-year gain, wage growth has slowed considerably from the peak of 9.4% recorded in June 2024. Elevated mortgage rates, ongoing affordability challenges, and persistently high construction costs constrained home building activity over the past year. As a result, labor demand eased accordingly. Meanwhile, the number of open, and unfilled construction sector jobs continued to trend downward, consistent with the overall slowdown in housing activity.
Despite the slowdown in wage growth, residential building workers’ wages remain competitive relative to other industries:
- 9.9% higher than the manufacturing sector ($36.07 per hour)
- 23.3% higher than the transportation and warehousing sector ($32.14 per hour)
- 2.6% lower than the mining and logging sector ($40.69 per hour)
Note:
- Data used in this post relate to all employees in the residential building industry. This group includes both new single-family housing construction (excluding for-sale builders) and residential remodelers but does not include specialty trade contractors.
