PHILADELPHIA, PA

For years, the construction industry in Philadelphia and across the country has suffered from a labor shortage — but with construction starts tailing off this year, the epicenter of pain has shifted.

One form of labor shortage is arguably affecting commercial real estate more severely than any others: manufacturing and assembly plants that produce components critical to infrastructure and building operations.

Another element that building trades such as carpentry are newly embracing in Philadelphia is diversity. In the past four years, the Regional Council of Carpenters has seen the share of women in its workforce grow from 14% to 22%, according to panelists from BISNOW, which is in keeping with a nationally observed trend. Building trades have put more resources into recruiting younger workers to training programs that can eventually lead to skilled union jobs, and increased funding and attention from the entities behind Everybody Builds will accelerate those initiatives. It will take time to bear fruit, and until then, it will remain difficult for developers to meet diversity standards sought by community groups and, for projects on city-owned land, mandated by the city itself.

* Other structures include religious buildings, amusement, government communications, and public recreation projects.