Curt, my friend that survived the semi accident has a concrete business, he has ads on fb trying to find employees to work for him, I guess it's hard to find people that want to work,
Good foreman he would pay 25$ hour, needs laborer too

Too low. Up here a good concrete worker is 35 or better. A good foreman 45 plus.

Osky

I don't think you'd get a good foreman for 25 and hour around here. You would probably get some good young labor at that wage, but you would have to sort through many who would quit showing up after their first check, maybe even after a day or two.

X2. Concrete is tough work !!

That's good money for former around hear your be lucky to start at 13 bucks. If be tempted to quit my job for 25 but I'm not good enuff at concreat to be a forman! Laborers here make about 10 bucks.
Colt

It's all grunt work, dirty grunt work. The price you are listing is what was paid up here in 1980, seriously. These guys also have to make it thru winter on what they make in summer, and most need a winter job as well.

Osky

Yep. Backbreaking work, typically in the most brutal of conditions.

When I was younger I did just enough of it to cross it off my list of potential careers.

Mike

I pay experience guy that can do it all 60.00 per HR no Forman I work right with them don't have tell them to do anything we all just get it done.

it all depends on demographics. A business cannot pay it if it cannot charge enough to cover it.

That's why he's trying to switch over to excavation, he was going to pay for new equipment when semi hit him
I'm not sure what others pay around here, I know doing my own at home is enough for me

I know how your friend feels! I pay more for easier work and still cant find people that actually want to work. Nobody takes pride in their work anymore, its all about the paycheck

I guess he has a couple guys interested, I'm not sure what laborer position pays

Hire Mexicans. They will work.

Lol, they had Spanish names!

People seem to jump jobs so much more than in the past

Good foreman around here starts around $45 goes to $65, laborer around $15. Laborer makes it more than a week and can stay on his feet all day, his pay goes up according to the job size and his ability to get in there and get it done.

Skilled labor in the construction field is getting harder to find and the pay for those who can AND will do it is going up. Most bigger jobs in my area are contracted out to crews from bigger cities. Why? simply because it's so hard to find dependable workers. The pay is out there for those willing to work. For those willing to work with skills, you already have a job, self-employed, or you're avoiding work.

Darn near impossible to run a labor intensive business, I have two and it drives me crazy. I need one full time guy and would pay 50k a year, evidently that ain’t good enough to get anyone but drunks and addicts. I don’t understand what these guys think, if your a concrete laborer you are lucky to have graduated high school, what do you think your worth?

Everyone wants to get paid but no body wants to work anymore!

I enjoy manual labor and skill(I am employed). On the pessimistic side - govt. handouts have killed the need and want to work.

if that laborer shows up every day, will work without supervision, knows his job well, shows up sober and stays that way, id say that laborer is pretty valuable.