The Great Skilled Labor Shortage: Why Seattle’s Builders Are Paying $4 a Day
As construction booms in Magnolia and Bellevue, local employers are desperate for carpenters and masons, driving wages up to unprecedented levels.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
DEMAND FOR SKILLED MEN Labor Market Shows an Insufficient Supply.
As a result of the increased business in and about the city, there has been a marked development in the demand for labor of all classes. The Free Employment Bureau finds itself unable to supply the many employers applying for men in various lines of work.
Of the skilled craftsmen, carpenters are in most demand, the bureau receiving on an average of 150 applications per day, which is far in excess of the applications for employment. This corresponds with the regulation wages of $4 for a day of eight hours.
The government work at Magnolia Hill and Point Wilson is currently drawing from a depth of masons, as are a number of small-sawyers and cask workers at Carbonado, Yakima, and the vicinity.
In 1890, Seattle was already grappling with the tension between rapid infrastructure growth and a shortage of skilled tradespeople—a dynamic that echoes today’s housing affordability crisis where labor shortages and high wages contribute to soaring construction costs. The mention of 'government work' at Magnolia Hill highlights how early public projects helped drive local wage standards, a precursor to modern debates over prevailing wages on public contracts.
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