Amid a skilled labor shortage that has almost everyone in the industry groaning for help, construction craft wages
are creeping up. But not enough, it seems, to noticeably increase the supply of labor.
According to classical economic theory, when supply of labor or anything else gets tight in relation to demand,
the price of that commodity gets driven up. As prices rise, so do incentives for greater production of the
commodity in short supply, whether it be labor or materials. Thus, as pay scales go up, the trades ought to
become more and more attractive as a career option.