Skilled trades represent a large and varied part of the U.S. workforce. In May 2025, construction and extraction occupations employed 6.4 million people, while individual trades ranged from more than one million construction laborers to fewer than 12,000 wind turbine service technicians in 2025. The data also points to continued demand: several installation, maintenance, repair, and energy occupations are projected to grow faster than the overall construction trades group through 2035.
Contents
- Current construction trade employment and wages
- Construction trade projections through 2035
- Installation, maintenance, and repair outlook
- Mechanical, vehicle, and energy trades
- Apprenticeship scale and reported outcomes
- CTE pathways into skilled work
Current construction trade employment and wages
The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey provides a national snapshot for May 2025. Construction laborers were the largest occupation listed here, with 1,096,780 workers. Electricians employed 757,220 people, and carpenters employed 670,090. Construction equipment operators accounted for 522,210 workers, while the pipelayer, plumber, pipefitter, and steamfitter group accounted for 498,890. Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers employed 416,210 people.
Median hourly pay varied across these occupations. Electricians had a median hourly wage of $30.38, followed closely by pipelayers, plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters at $30.29. Carpenters had a median hourly wage of $29.12, and construction equipment operators had a median of $28.66. Construction laborers had a median hourly wage of $22.66. These are national median hourly wages for May 2025, not guaranteed starting wages or individual offers.
| Occupation or group | Employment, May 2025 | Median hourly wage, May 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Construction laborers | 1,096,780 | $22.66 |
| Electricians | 757,220 | $30.38 |
| Carpenters | 670,090 | $29.12 |
| Construction equipment operators | 522,210 | $28.66 |
| Pipelayers, plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters | 498,890 | $30.29 |
| Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers | 416,210 | Not supplied in this dataset |
The employment counts show why “skilled trades” should not be treated as one job. Construction labor, electrical work, carpentry, plumbing, equipment operation, and welding differ in scale and work setting. The wage figures likewise describe occupation-wide medians rather than a ranking that applies to every worker, location, experience level, employer, or specialty.
Construction trade projections through 2035
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that construction trades workers as a group will rise from 5,678,100 jobs in 2025 to 6,002,100 in 2035. That projection describes the size of the occupation group at two points in time; it is not a promise that every construction trade will grow at the same rate.
Several individual construction occupations show measurable projected growth and recurring openings. Carpenter employment is projected to increase from 889,700 in 2025 to 924,700 in 2035, a 3.9% increase. Carpentry is projected to have 62,800 annual openings on average over 2025–35. The annual-openings figure reflects the average number of openings projected each year during that period, not only newly created jobs.
Construction laborer employment is projected to rise from 1,489,300 in 2025 to 1,598,600 in 2035, or 7.3%. Construction laborers are projected to have 120,000 annual openings on average over 2025–35. This is the largest annual-openings figure among the construction examples in the supplied projections.
Plumber, pipefitter, and steamfitter employment is projected to grow from 510,600 in 2025 to 545,200 in 2035, or 6.8%. The group is projected to have 42,000 annual openings on average over 2025–35. Roofing employment is projected to grow 5.3%, with 12,000 annual openings on average over the same period.
The projection period is 2025–35, and the figures are forecasts. They should be read as planning indicators rather than guarantees. A trade can have substantial annual openings because of replacement needs as well as employment growth, so the number of openings and the percentage growth measure different parts of the labor-market outlook.
Installation, maintenance, and repair outlook
Some of the strongest projected growth in the supplied skilled-trades figures appears in installation, maintenance, and repair work. Heating, air-conditioning, and refrigeration mechanic employment is projected to rise from 440,900 in 2025 to 489,100 in 2035. The occupation group is projected to grow 10.9% from 2025 to 2035 and to have 40,600 annual openings on average over 2025–35.
Industrial machinery mechanics show an even higher projected growth rate. Employment is projected to increase from 446,900 in 2025 to 526,600 in 2035, a 17.8% increase. Industrial machinery mechanics are projected to have 44,400 annual openings on average over 2025–35. This combination of projected growth and openings distinguishes the occupation from a small trade whose percentage growth is high but whose total labor market is much smaller.
Electrical power-line installers and repairers are projected to grow from 131,900 jobs in 2025 to 145,500 in 2035. That represents projected growth of 10.3%, with 10,900 annual openings on average over 2025–35. The occupation’s projected job count is smaller than those of industrial machinery mechanics or heating and air-conditioning mechanics, but its projected percentage growth is also substantial.
| Occupation | 2025 jobs | 2035 jobs | Projected growth | Average annual openings, 2025–35 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Industrial machinery mechanics | 446,900 | 526,600 | 17.8% | 44,400 |
| Heating, air-conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers | 440,900 | 489,100 | 10.9% | 40,600 |
| Electrical power-line installers and repairers | 131,900 | 145,500 | 10.3% | 10,900 |
Source: BLS Occupational projections and worker characteristics.
These projections can help compare potential pathways, but they do not include a wage comparison for these occupations in the supplied figures. The appropriate takeaway is the difference in projected employment and openings, not an unsupported claim about which path pays most.
Mechanical, vehicle, and energy trades
The mechanical, vehicle, and energy occupations in the projections show a wide range of labor-market size and growth. Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers are projected to grow from 437,700 jobs in 2025 to 448,100 in 2035, or 2.4%. Despite the modest percentage growth, the occupation is projected to have 40,300 annual openings on average over 2025–35.
Automotive service technicians and mechanics are projected to rise from 825,800 jobs in 2025 to 866,700 in 2035. Their projected growth is 5.0%, and they are projected to have 66,200 annual openings on average over 2025–35. The openings estimate is larger than the welding estimate and smaller than the construction-laborer estimate in the figures above.
Wind turbine service technicians are projected to rise from 11,800 jobs in 2025 to 15,300 in 2035. Their projected growth rate is 29.5%, the highest percentage in the supplied projections. The occupation is projected to have 1,500 annual openings on average over 2025–35. The contrast between 29.5% growth and 1,500 annual openings illustrates why percentage growth should be considered alongside the starting employment base.
The BLS projections therefore present different kinds of opportunity: welding combines a large occupation with 40,300 projected annual openings but 2.4% growth; automotive service has 66,200 projected annual openings and 5.0% growth; wind turbine service has the highest projected growth rate but a much smaller employment base and fewer annual openings.
Apprenticeship scale and reported outcomes
Construction apprenticeship participation increased across the periods reported in the Department of Labor’s construction fact sheet. Construction apprentices served rose from more than 308,000 in fiscal year 2021 to more than 318,000 in fiscal year 2022. The figure exceeded 340,000 in fiscal year 2023, exceeded 451,000 in fiscal year 2024, and reached 480,399 in 2025.
These counts use different reporting periods: fiscal years for FY2021 through FY2024 and the year 2025 for the final figure. The wording “more than” also matters for the earlier counts; they are lower-bound descriptions rather than exact totals. The figures show expanding reported scale, but they do not by themselves measure completion, pay, or the quality of every program.
A Department of Labor apprenticeship presentation from 2023 reports several additional measures. It reports a 44% employer return on investment for Registered Apprenticeship, a 90% employment-retention rate after completion, and a 46% completion rate among apprenticeship starters. It also reports average annual earnings of $80,000 for apprenticeship completers and a lifetime earning advantage of more than $300,000 for apprenticeship completers.
Those outcome figures should be attributed to the 2023 presentation and kept in its reported scope. They are not presented here as independently re-verified estimates, and the supplied figures do not specify a separate occupation, state, cohort definition, or comparison group for each measure.
CTE pathways into skilled work
Career and technical education can be one route toward postsecondary credentials, although the supplied national education figures cover a defined group and timeline. Among 2013 public high school graduates who had enrolled in postsecondary education, 68% of CTE concentrators had earned a postsecondary degree or certificate by June 2021.
Among those graduates, 14% of CTE concentrators had an associate’s degree as their highest postsecondary award, compared with 9% of nonconcentrators. Forty-eight percent of CTE concentrators had a bachelor’s degree or higher as their highest award, compared with 54% of nonconcentrators. These figures describe the highest award by June 2021, not the full range of credentials a person may have earned.
Among CTE concentrators who earned a postsecondary award, 74% had their highest award in a CTE field, compared with 64% of nonconcentrators. Twenty-seven percent of CTE concentrators who earned a postsecondary award earned it in the same field as their high school CTE concentration. The field-match figure is narrower than the broader measure of having a highest award in a CTE field.
Thirty-two percent of CTE concentrators had not earned a postsecondary certificate or degree by June 2021, compared with 31% of nonconcentrators. The comparison concerns 2013 public high school graduates who had enrolled in postsecondary education and follows them through June 2021; it should not be generalized to every high school student, every skilled-trades program, or every apprenticeship.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics, Career and Technical Education in the United States.
Taken together, the figures describe several entry routes rather than one required credential. Construction, installation, repair, mechanical, vehicle, and energy occupations have different projected sizes and opening counts. Apprenticeship participation and CTE outcomes add context, but the measurement period, geography, population, and definition behind each statistic should remain part of any career comparison.