A moderate to severe labor shortage was reported by 75 percent of general contractors, remodelers and design-build firms in the first quarter of 2017, according to the U.S. Houzz Renovation Barometer.
That figure is down three percent from the third quarter of 2016, the last time Houzz released the Renovation Barometer, and down two percent from the first quarter of 2016.
The flooring specialist shortage was described as a moderate to severe shortage by 13 percent of the professionals surveyed. Forty-one percent of survey respondents said there was a moderate to severe shortage of finish carpenters—the largest shortage reported.
Regionally, 9 percent of respondents said there was a flooring specialist shortage in the Northeast; in the South, 14 percent; in the West, 15 percent; and in the Midwest, 12 percent.
