[TheAdamAndChe]

This is what happens when the upper-middle and upper classes are the only groups seeing an increase in quality of life. People would still be going into these industries if they were seen as long-term careers. If wages don't increase above real inflation, people will move to different industries.

This is the direct result of outsourcing and illegal immigration gutting the middle class.

[panic]

They're making plenty of money -- as the article says, "[The general contractors] have all the power and charge accordingly." I'd say it has more to do with people (including their parents and peers) seeing college as necessary and not considering a construction industry career at all.

[TheAdamAndChe]

Now that the labor pool has adjusted following the recession, of course they change what they charge. For decades, though, wages for those folks have been stagnant and quality of life limited, which is why their parents and peers pushed them to go into different fields. I guarantee that if wages had increased as much as the stock market had in that time, there wouldn't be such a limited pool of contractors at the moment.