Foreign-born workers accounted for 35% of US construction trades workers in 2024, compared with 18% of the overall labor force, Construction Dive reported on October 19, 2026, citing a Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies analysis. Their share exceeded 50% in drywall installation, plastering, roofing, painting, and flooring installation - occupations the report identifies as physically demanding and lower-paying. The trades workforce totaled 6.2 million in 2024, still 700,000 below its pre-recession level, and foreign-born employment rose by 468,000 between 2013 and 2024. The pipeline is narrowing: net international migration fell from 2.7 million in 2024 to 1.3 million in 2025, and 76% of foreign-born trades workers under 30 had arrived within the previous decade, meaning reduced immigration hits the youngest cohort first. Geographic exposure varies widely: immigrants account for about 75% of trades workers in the Miami metro versus roughly 6% in St. Louis. AGC of America's September workforce survey found 87% of contractors had hourly craft openings, and 88% of those firms said positions were as hard or harder to fill than a year earlier. Twelve percent reported workers leaving or failing to appear because of actual or rumored immigration enforcement, and 16% reported subcontractors losing workers. 'Shortages of virtually any craft can delay later stages or final completion of a project,' said Ken Simonson, AGC's chief economist.