There are nearly 670,000 carpenters employed in the United States, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Carpenters are creative, detail-oriented, and highly skilled at what they do, working indoors and outdoors. Whether it's performing small repair jobs, framing buildings, installing walls, floors, and doorframes, doing home renovations with upgrades, room extensions, and additions, or building highways and bridges, carpenters are involved in many types of construction jobs.
The market size, measured by revenue, of the carpentry industry was more than $40 billion in 2022, according to IBISWorld. It's the 20th-ranked construction industry by market size and the 279th-largest industry segment in general in the United States. The bulk of carpentry industry revenue is generated from work on new housing construction, such as single-family and multifamily homes, and renovations. Demand for carpentry contracting services rises as housing starts rise and more homes are built.
Carpenters are among the top job positions general contractors are having difficulty staffing amid the construction industry's continued labor shortage. According to Contractor News, automation and globalization have not decreased the need for carpenters. Carpentry is still in high demand, with only a few exceptions. Even when the lumber supply chain is disrupted, the profession remains strong.
Consumer Trends Impacting the Carpentry Industry
Consumers are increasingly looking for eco-friendly natural materials, such as wood, rather than synthetic materials, which is good news for the carpentry industry. Homeowners, for example, are installing quartzite and other natural stone countertops, marble tile, wood cabinets, and vanities, particularly white oak, according to Houzz. Some Houzz designers attribute the surge in interest in natural materials to homeowners' rethinking man-made materials such as engineered quartz and gravitating instead to natural materials that add character and authenticity to a space.
Connecting the indoors to the outdoors is a trend that continues, accelerated initially during the pandemic when people were home and unable to travel. Remodeling projects include making kitchens more open to the outdoors.