Multifamily housing is booming. As a construction recruiting leader, I see the numbers daily: multifamily completions hit a 38-year high in 2024 with over 600,000 units built in the U.S., the highest level since 1986 according to NAHB analysis. But building all those units requires skilled teams. The construction sector faces a well-documented labor shortage. One report estimates the industry needs to hire roughly 723,000 new workers per year to meet housing demand. Indeed, a recent analysis found around 245,000 open construction jobs nationwide in mid-2025, reflecting the gap between projects and people.

The industry isn’t just in demand, it’s competitive. I recall a meeting with a developer in Texas who was scrambling to staff a 200-unit apartment project. Half her on-site crew was approaching retirement, and she told me our recruiting team was her top emergency contact. Like our client, many firms are learning the hard way how tight the labor market is. Skilled roles in multifamily projects, from engineers to electricians, suddenly seem to vanish overnight, and salaries are rising as a result.

Key Multifamily Construction Roles

In multifamily projects, our clients frequently need the same core positions. We help fill roles including:

  • Construction Project Manager: Oversees budgets, schedules, and coordinates between architects, contractors and owners to keep the project on track.
  • Field Superintendent: Manages day-to-day site operations, ensuring crews meet deadlines and quality standards on the construction floor.
  • Estimator: Prepares detailed cost and labor estimates, helping firms bid competitively while protecting profit margins.
  • Field Engineer / Assistant Project Manager: Supports the PM and superintendent with planning, data collection, and on-site problem solving.
  • Skilled Trades (Carpenters, Electricians, Plumbers, etc.): Specialty craftworkers who execute the physical work, always in high demand on multifamily sites.

For example, just last month we placed a superintendent for a new apartment community. The client insisted on someone with wood-frame expertise, and it took relentless networking to find a candidate with exactly the right mix of hands-on skills and leadership ability. That hiring success underscores how specialized many multifamily roles can be and why recruiters must actively nurture a talent pipeline.

Strategies for Attracting and Hiring Talent

So how do we overcome these challenges? It starts with branding and outreach. I always advise clients to highlight what makes their company a great place to work, especially training and career growth. For instance, we often showcase on our website and social media the training and development opportunities that help new hires build skills. Young professionals want clear career paths, so I explain how a project manager can grow into a senior director role over time, drawing on the company’s documented roadmap. Sharing success stories and formal development programs in job postings makes candidates more likely to envision a future at the company.

We also recruit proactively, not just post ads and wait. Maintaining an active pipeline is key: when a superintendent quits unexpectedly, it’s too late to start from zero. I dedicate part of each week to networking. I partner with local union halls and construction tech schools, sponsor trade events, and keep lists of top performers we’ve met. One time, I organized a lunch-and-learn at a community college, and by evening I had five great leads for our client. Those early relationships pay off when roles open up.

Diversity and inclusion are another piece of the puzzle. Women and people of diverse ethnicities remain a largely untapped labor pool in construction, and tapping these communities pays dividends. I encourage clients to expand recruiting at community job fairs and through targeted outreach. In practice, one contractor we partnered with broadened their outreach at local Hispanic community centers and saw a dramatic rise in qualified applicants. Plus, building teams with varied backgrounds often leads to better problem-solving on site. Industry data now shows women make over 10% of construction workers and Hispanics about a third in the overall workforce, figures that are climbing according to NAHB analysis.

Of course, candidates today look for more than just pay. I’ve seen talented project engineers turned off by rigid 9-to-5 roles, so our clients try to offer some flexibility. For office-based roles, we negotiate remote work or flexible hours. Even on the jobsite, scheduling can be adjusted to improve work-life balance, for example some of our builders now stagger shifts or provide advance notice of overtime. Communicating these perks during the hiring process helps candidates see that working in multifamily construction can fit their lifestyle.

Recruiting in the multifamily construction space is as much about people and relationships as it is about filling positions. By focusing on employer branding, cultivating a talent pipeline, and seeking candidates from diverse backgrounds, we help firms build the teams that actually build communities. Every day, I’m proud to connect hard-working people with projects that matter, after all, each skilled worker we place is helping create apartments where families will live, learn, and grow. In an industry facing historic labor gaps, finding the right talent has never been more critical or rewarding.