Despite the growing demand for renovations and new homesthe construction sector suffers from a serious labor shortage. The current situation is not just a question of numbers, but a structural problem that is related to the aging of staff, the absence of generational replacement and difficult working conditions that fail to attract young people.
The sector is experiencing a moment of “discovery”: if you want trained bricklayers, it is It is essential to improve their salaries and conditions, including vacation days and a work day that allows for reconciliation. That is the main drawback for an industrial fabric made up mainly of self-employed workers.
A labor market under pressure. In Spain, the construction sector is going through one of its worst labor crises. According to the National Construction Confederation (CNC) it is estimated that currently some 700,000 workers are needed to cover the demand for works and renovations.
Data from the BBVA Research Real Estate Observatory for June 2025 show that vacancies in the sector have multiplied by four since 2016, reflecting an upward trend that does not seem to stop. The employment figures collected in the BBVA report reveal that only 6.8% of those employed in Spain work in the construction sector, far from the 14% that was registered before the 2008 crisis.
Aging without replacement. This situation is further aggravated by the difficulty in attracting new workers, especially due to the harsh legacy left by the 2008 crisis in which thousands of professionals left the sector or changed jobs. The BBVA report reveals that more than 55% of construction employees in Spain are over 45 years old and only 9% are under 30 years old, a clear indication of the lack of a generational change cash. Only the arrival of immigrants has allowed a slight rejuvenation between 2022 and 2024.
Pascual, bricklayer and construction businessman, assured on Adrián G. Martín’s channel: “I have four projects underway and I need people who know how to manage them, but… I find few prepared people. I need young people who want to learn, but you can’t find them.”
A demanding and… poorly paid job? The labor shortage is putting upward pressure on wages. According what was published by The Confidentialthe base salary for a construction worker is around 1,300 euros per month in 14 payments, which amounts to about 18,457 euros per year. according to the sectoral agreement valid until December 2026, but can be reached between 1,384 and 1,500 euros per month depending on the complements and the autonomous community. In regions such as the Valencian Community, the average salary amounts to 23,541 euros per year, while in other communities it exceeds 20,000 euros per year.
The EPA data (Active Population Survey) by sectors indicate that, in recent years, salaries have been improving (forced by the increase in the SMI) in the lowest deciles, and due to the pressure of labor shortage in the case of those who have better training or first-class officers.
Salary increase in construction
Masons without school. Another key factor in the labor crisis is the lack of training for young people seeking to join this sector. The BBVA Research report indicates that Spain has a less qualified construction workforce than the European average, which negatively impacts productivity and limits the adoption of new technologies and efficient methods.
The report confirms itAdjustment of employment supply and demand 2025‘ prepared by the Ministry of Labor, which indicates that there is a real and persistent imbalance in construction: there are positions that are difficult to fill, not so much because of lack of demand, but because the supply of qualified labor does not fit the profile demanded. That is, companies do not want to hire profiles to train them internally, so potential candidates to occupy that position in the future are rejected.
Jobs without relief. The problem of talent shortage in construction does not only affect bricklayers. Traditional construction-related trades (such as carpenters, electricians, plumbers, painters, etc.) have shared the same construction practices. salary denigrationharsh working conditions and outsourcing of training.
However, the attractiveness of employment remains low among young people because it is a “very hard job” and physically demanding, with long hours and little work-life balance. The construction employers have been very belligerent with both the working hours reduction measuresas time controlwhich does not contribute to making the sector attractive to young people.
They are not getting rich. Given the shortage of personnel, it is natural to think that the available professionals are getting rich. However, this assumption, which would perhaps be fulfilled in a scenario of large companies where they bid for the best professionals, does not occur in an industrial fabric made up of 92.93% of self-employed people with SMEs without employees or micro-businesses with between 1 and 9 employees.
As and how does it count electrician and TikTok influencer Ricardo Abellán (@dombydomotica), the problem of talent shortage is not so much due to staff training, but rather due to the inability of SMEs and self-employed workers to assume the salaries of their new employees. Before that financial inabilityprofessionals choose to generate increasingly longer waiting lists that would be weighing down the sector growth.
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Image | Unsplash (Emma Houghton)
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