The August jobs report was full of positive information. The U.S. added 201,000 jobs, wages increased 2.9 percent compared to a year ago, and the overall unemployment rate held steady at 3.9 percent. However, an interesting statistic in the report showed that the unemployment rate was only 2.5 percent for non-management occupations, such as installation, maintenance, and repair workers.
While the stronger economy is definitely good news for contractors, they are probably not too thrilled to see these record low unemployment numbers. As everyone knows, the HVACR industry is struggling with a severe shortage of skilled labor, and the problem is only getting worse. Technicians are getting older — with some studies showing an average age of mid-50s — while young people are not entering the trades as they once did.