Craft labor insights in Phoenix
Every week, thousands of craft professionals across the U.S. join the Skillit platform to connect with the nation’s best and biggest general and specialty trade contractors. This generates millions of proprietary data points which we anonymize and structure into labor intelligence to help decision-makers gain a competitive edge in a tight labor market.
Key Findings
As of December 28th 2024, craft professionals in Phoenix:
Are paid .99X the national average. However, their desired pay improvement is only 0.56X of national.
National craft professionals desire $2.88 hourly pay improvement whereas Phoenix craft professionals desire only $1.61
In addition, craft professionals in Phoenix are 1.16X more likely to accept lower pay.
Benefits are the primary non financial motivator at 42.3%, 1.42X compared to national. This is followed by training and upskilling (28.8%) with women-friendly environments lagging behind at 9%.
Major construction specific employers include Suntec Concrete, Hoffman Construction Company and RKS Plumbing and Mechanical, amongst others.
Carpenters, laborers, electricians, HEO’s and Drywallers all rank higher in skills assessments and all surpass national averages, while welders and pipelayers lag behind.
Average years of experience is .97X higher than national and stands at 14.94 years across all trades.
Laborers show considerable experience overlap with other trades. Laborers often transition into other skilled roles and recruiters should note that this is a leveling up opportunity.
Forklift operator and OSHA 10 are the most common certifications, followed by scissor lift operator.
The proportion of individuals authorized to work in Phoenix is 1:1 with national. The ‘would rather not say’ category is on the lower side of the state at 23.34% or 1.10X vis a vis national.
Women in the trades is low at 5.8% on average for all trades. However, the share of female electricians in Phoenix is 7.8% which is high compared to national data.
A significantly large percentage of craft professionals prefer English as their main language, standing at 86% total.
Recruiters generally have a harder time connecting with craft professionals in Phoenix as connection speed 66X slower.
Union membership is lower in Phoenix than national and stands at 13.11%
Phoenix craft professionals have a 27 mile commute, which is 2.24x national.
Migration to Phoenix is primarily from Arizona and Texas, followed by Florida and Colorado. Welders and Pipelayers are the trades that are most willing to relocate to Phoenix.
OSHA 30 certification is higher than national and stands at 1.32X with OSHA 40 being at only 0.61X compared to national. OSHA 62 also lags behind at 0.77X.
Overall Phoenix presents an interesting scenario, since craft professionals have relatively less experience compared to other MSAs (Tampa, Orlando, Denver). However, English is predominantly preferred as a work language and OSHA 30 stands at a high % of certification. With Arizona being a border state, and a high percentage of craft workers authorized to work, it may be assumed that a lot of the workforce is first generation. Recruiters can consider this when they prepare their outreach and benefits plans.
Current craft pay in Phoenix
Hourly pay does not vary considerably; in fact, most trades display only minor differences between (~$1) the Phoenix rates and the national averages, with some trades closely aligned to or slightly below the national rates.
Craft pay expectations in Phoenix
Desired hourly pay varies across different trades in relation to national data, but overall, the most significant desired pay improvement is seen in Heavy Equipment Operators ($4), while most trades generally anticipate a rise around $2.
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Craft compensation flexibility in Phoenix
Overall, the willingness to accept lower pay varies by trade, the differences between Phoenix and the national averages are generally modest, with pipefitters in Phoenix showing the highest percentage at 28% in Phoenix compared to 18% nationally.
Non-financial compensation trends
benefits and training/upskilling are significant motivators, especially for Pipefitters, while women-friendly initiatives show noticeable interest in select trades. Benefits motivation is highest among Pipefitters (around 40%) and also significant for plumbers and HEOs. Training & upskilling are relevant for concrete workers and plumbers, each around 25%, indicating a desire for professional development. Recruiters should note that a women friendly environment is notably high for some trades like electricians and plumbers at around 25%.
Meet Phoenix’s biggest employers of craft professionals
Our data reveals that https Suntec Concrete is one of the most prominent employers in Tampa with approximately 300 concrete workers, electricians, carpenters, general laborers, heavy equipment operators, drywallers, plumbers, welders, pipefitters and pipelayers on Skillit citing it as a past or current employer.
Skill, Experience & Certifications
There is a high skills overlap for some trades, with laborers showing considerable experience overlap with other trades. This could indicate that laborers often transition into other skilled roles, or that the initial skill sets are transferable. Conversely, trades like welders show relatively less overlap, suggesting a higher level of specialization. Recruiters should take note of the migration section in the report, where welders rank as one of the trades most interested in migrating to Phoenix.
Work authorization
The data indicates that a significant majority of craft professionals in Phoenix are authorized to work, with only a small portion indicating they are not. The majority of trades have high authorization rates, with laborers, electricians, and carpenters exceeding 75%. HEOs and Plumbers also show strong rates, around 70%.
Gender and language
The share of female craft professionals in Phoenix is comparable to or slightly higher than the national averages. The share of female electricians in Phoenix is 7.8%, compared to 3.2% nationally and carpenters show 8% compared to the national average of 6.7%. In Phoenix, English is the preferred language for the majority of the trades at 86.9%.
Contactability and communication
Connection rates are lower in Phoenix are in line with national 94X, and connection speed is slower than national at .66X. The preferred method of communication can be interchangeable, with a preference for email and SMS. Recruiters can think of how to integrate SMS into their outreach platforms to increase connection rates.
Union membership
Concrete workers have a higher than national union membership at 15.1% compared to 12.9% nationally, followed by drywallers at 13.8% compared to 11.1% nationally. All other trades have a weaker union affiliation compared to national data.
One-way commute distance
Local one-way commute in Phoenix stands at 27 miles on average across all trades vis a vis 12 miles national. This is 2.24X longer, comparatively.
Migration
The majority of professionals willing to relocate to Phoenix are from within Arizona (32.%), followed closely by Texas (30.9%) and Florida (19.7%). Welders have the highest willingness to relocate (40%), followed by pipelayers (39%), electricians and HEOs (35%).
Electricians, pipelayers and HEOs are willing to travel the furthest to work in Phoenix (about 900 miles), while drywallers are willing to travel the shortest distance, roughly 752 miles.
OSHA
Phoenix shows higher OSHA 10 certification shares for carpenters, laborers, pipefitters and welders, while drywallers have lower percentages compared to national averages. OSHA 30 ranks high at 1.32X national and other OSHA certifications are under the national percentages.
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Our methodology
All data included in this report is as of August 30, 2024 and based on the anonymized data from over 20,000 Skillit member profiles located in, or interested in relocating to, Dallas and 12 months of communications between employers and craft professionals aggregated across the Skillit platform.
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