A new report from the Commerce Department found that new home building is at its highest level in more than four years. Over 2 million construction jobs have been lost, and some areas have a shortage of the workers needed to build new homes. Many contractors are also abandoning the process of using unions to hire workers, who are often very skilled, making it harder to find workers. The recession also meant that the manufacturers of supplies went out of business, leading to some shortages now.
See "Homebuilding Is Booming, But Skilled Workers Are Scarce", Yuki Noguchi, NPR Online, January 17, 2013