Trade UP: The Skilled Labor Fund

The NKBA is on a mission to do all we can to help close America’s skilled labor gap. There is an increasing shortage of skilled workers in the kitchen and bath industry. Trained carpenters, electricians and plumbers are in short supply. That means new home builds and…

Ferguson’s 2017 Trends

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Knowing which kitchen and bath trends are on the rise and how they work together makes all the difference when presenting to a potential client. Through exclusive product research and discussions with leading designers, manufacturers and…

Trade UP: Working Together to Change Minds

“There are many well-paying jobs in the building trades these days. But next year, almost six million skilled jobs will go unfilled.” So says Norm Abram, the celebrated master carpenter of “This Old House,” in a new video with NKBA CEO Bill Darcy about…

Economic Indicators Update: 3/9/17

Last week’s release of January’s data on homeowners’ spending for remodeling projects brought both good and bad news. The good news is the data for November and December of last year were revised upward by 4 percent and 5 percent respectively. The bad news is January’s…

Economic Indicators Update: 3/16/17

February’s employment data brought the good news that 235,000 jobs were added for the month. This is virtually identical to January, when 238,000 jobs were created.

Economic Indicators Update: 3/2/17

January home sales statistics gave conflicting signals on the state of the industry. While sales for existing homes started the year strong, reaching its highest volume in over a decade, sales for new homes remain at anemic levels.

Economic Indicators: 3/23/17

February single family housing starts jumped 6.5 percent to an 872,000 unit annual rate. This makes the fifth consecutive month that construction of single family homes has remained above 800,000 units. The first nine months of last year saw an average of 760,000 units, or…