Listen Anywhere
Something changed in who’s applying for trade jobs. You can feel it on site if you pay attention, and the numbers back it up. Gen Z now makes up 14% of the construction workforce, more than double what it was in 2019. That’s not a blip. That’s a trend with momentum behind it.
On episode 70 of The Deconstruction Podcast, Kosta, Johny, and Charlie broke down what’s actually driving it, what it means if you’re hiring right now, and why 2026 is the year most trade business owners have no choice but to raise their rates.
Why Younger People Are Choosing Trades
The stat making the rounds says 60% of Gen Z is considering a skilled trades career in 2026, with AI anxiety, college debt, and an unstable corporate ladder as the main drivers. The AI piece is real. White-collar jobs that used to look like safe bets, accounting, legal, mid-level management, are getting compressed fast. If you’re 18 and watching that happen, you do the math.
But Charlie made a point that cuts through the headline: when he talks to young guys applying at his company, they’re not quoting AI statistics. They’re talking about money. They want to earn well, they want to work with their hands, and a lot of them weren’t built for the classroom to begin with. The AI narrative might be the macro reason trades are surging. But for the individual coming through the door, it usually comes down to: can I make real money doing this?
The answer is yes, clearly. Charlie mentioned an elevator worker who cleared $200,000 last year. Between regular pay, overtime, and weekend side jobs, guys at his company are pulling $4,000 a week. Those numbers don’t lie to a 20-year-old who’s watching university grads fight over $60,000 salary jobs.
The Stigma That’s Gone
There was a time when getting into trades was what you did if school didn’t work out. Johny dropped out at 15 and remembers his vice principal asking if he planned to work at McDonald’s. That framing, trades as the fallback, has quietly died over the last decade.
Social media accelerated it. Every trade has content now. Roofers, electricians, HVAC guys, plumbers — there’s a whole ecosystem of contractors documenting their work, their businesses, their income. It normalized the path and made it look like something worth choosing on purpose. And it also exposed something a lot of people hadn’t considered: the trades can lead to business ownership, which can lead to real wealth. Johny and Charlie are sitting in the middle of that story themselves. Two guys who learned a trade, built a company, and ended up creating software for the industry.
What It Actually Means If You’re Hiring
An influx of new people doesn’t automatically solve a labor problem. Charlie’s point was sharp: if he posts an ad, he gets 100 calls in two days. Most of those are entry-level guys looking to start. That’s not the same as having experienced, qualified tradespeople ready to put on a project.
The real opportunity is in who you hire early and how you develop them. Johny’s company just brought on a Gen Z hire who started as a co-op student in his last year of high school. His teacher told him to go take the job. That’s the shift. The same school system that once pushed everyone toward university is now sending kids to the trades and telling them it’s the right move.
If you run a trades company and you’re not thinking deliberately about onboarding younger workers, you’re going to lose the good ones. The guys who show up hungry and with the right mindset are going somewhere. The question is whether that’s your company or someone else’s.
Raising Your Rates in 2026 — And Why Most Contractors Are Late
Sixty-seven percent of small business owners have raised or plan to raise prices this year. Materials are up significantly, copper and steel each up close to 40-50% in recent months. Insurance costs have climbed. Labor is more expensive. Training certifications, compliance requirements, and overhead that didn’t exist five years ago are now table stakes.
The contractors who haven’t moved their rates are essentially working for less than they did in 2022. Inflation doesn’t negotiate.
How to Actually Have the Conversation
Charlie’s approach is simple: be direct and be early. Tell clients before the rate increase hits. Explain what’s driving it, that it’s not arbitrary, and give them a number. You don’t owe them a detailed cost breakdown, but you do owe them transparency and enough notice to plan.
The clients who leave over a rate increase that’s in line with market conditions were usually already marginal. The ones who stay are the ones who value what you do, trust your work, and understand that running a real company costs money.
Jobtable makes it easier to manage the operational side of this: clean invoices, organized job history, and a paper trail that makes the value of your work visible to clients. When you raise rates, it helps to show up as a professional company in every interaction. 👉 Learn more at https://www.jobtable.com
The Apples-to-Apples Problem
One of the most honest moments in the episode was Johny walking through a three-bid scenario: $40k, $60k, $80k on the same plumbing project. The instinct is to dismiss the high number and negotiate the middle. But the question is what you’re actually comparing.
A company with 30 employees, workers’ comp, full insurance, certified crews, project management, and accountability is a different product than one guy with a truck doing it on the weekend. You don’t negotiate with your dentist because they’re 20% higher than the dental school clinic. You pay for the certainty.
The trades are getting there. Slowly. Residential clients are still more resistant than commercial, but even that’s shifting. The contractors who hold their price, do the work well, and communicate like a professional business eventually build a client base that stops questioning the invoice.
Knowing When You’re in the Wrong Market
Not every job is worth winning. Not every client is worth keeping. Johny told the story of a neighbor who got a $25k roof quote from a reputable company and balked. Found someone to do it for $13k. That guy stopped returning calls, pushed the start date repeatedly, and delivered an experience that matched what he charged.
You get what you pay for. And as a business owner, you’re either building a client base that understands that, or you’re constantly working for people who don’t.
The companies that grow and stay profitable are the ones that know their market, price accordingly, and aren’t afraid to lose a job to the cheapest competitor. Because those clients call back eventually, usually to fix the mess.