Worker shortage is critical as construction of residential and commercial buildings starts to boom, USA Today reports.
"I would go so far as to call it an epidemic," Jerry Howard, CEO of the National Association of Home Builders, tells USA Today. Around 70 percent of home builders surveyed by the NAHB reported a shortage of carpenters, an increase from 63 percent the year before.
Changes in education has also thinned the pipeline of new workers. “Many high schools have phased out shop classes and parents increasingly have steered graduates to four-year colleges and white-collar careers,” the article says.