The number of construction skilled workers last year fell 8% from a year earlier. The slide is analyzed as a result of the prolonged slump in the construction market.
According to annual statistics from the Construction Workers Mutual Aid Association (CW) on the 1st, the number of construction skilled workers last year (a combined concept of craft and related trades workers, plant and machine operators and assemblers, and elementary laborers, etc.) was tallied at 1.34 million. That is a decrease of 117,000 (8%) from 1.457 million a year earlier.
By job category, craft and related trades workers decreased by 38,000, and elementary laborers fell by 70,000.
By age group, people in their 50s accounted for the largest share at 33.7%. They were followed by those 60 and older at 28.1% and those in their 40s at 21.5%. The share of people in their 40s was the same as a year earlier, but the shares of those in their 50s, teens, and 20s declined. In contrast, only the share of those 60 and older increased to 28.1% from 25.4% a year earlier.
Construction skilled workers are aging further. The average age of construction skilled workers last year was 51.7, up 0.8 from 50.9 in 2024. It has risen 2.8 over 10 years since 48.9 in 2015.
The share of those 60 and older surpassed that of those in their 40s in 2022, and the gap has continued to widen, reaching 6.6 percentage points (p) last year. The proportion of those 40 and older was 83.2%, which was 14.9 percentage points higher than the 68.3% across all industries.
Meanwhile, the number of beneficiaries of the association's retirement mutual aid payments also fell sharply. As of October last year, the number of beneficiaries enrolled in the association was 638,294, down 17.6% from 774,340 a year earlier. While both domestic and foreign counts decreased, domestic beneficiaries fell 18.2%, a steeper drop than foreigners at 14.6%.
Numbers declined across all ages, with those in their 20s and younger down 26.2%, the steepest drop. By age distribution, those in their 50s were the largest at 34.2%, followed by those in their 60s at 25.9%.
The Construction Workers Mutual Aid Association (CW) projected demand for construction skilled workers this year at about 1.71 million. On supply, despite factors that could increase it—such as more former construction unemployed and inflows of unemployed people from other industries—the decline in labor input driven by weaker demand for construction skilled workers is expected to be larger, bringing total supply to a slight year-over-year decrease at about 1.42 million.
Accordingly, the association predicted that the construction industry's domestic skilled workforce will be short by 300,000 this year, and even if foreigners make up some of the gap, there will still be a shortfall with only lawful foreign labor.