Housing Shortage Hits Business: 250,000+ Open Jobs Stall Growth

America's housing shortage has left the residential construction sector with an estimated 250,000 to 450,000 open jobs — and businesses outside the industry are feeling the squeeze just as sharply, from rising costs to unfilled positions.

That was the central message at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's 2026 Building for Growth Housing Summit, held in Washington, DC, where policymakers, business leaders and housing experts gathered on the heels of the bipartisan 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, the most comprehensive federal housing package in decades. With the law now on the books, the conversation has shifted to implementation and increasing supply.

"Affordable housing is the number one issue in my district because we have communities with 800 open jobs, and the only barrier to filling up those jobs is the lack of housing," said House Financial Services Housing and Insurance Subcommittee Chairman Mike Flood (R-NE).

Bipartisan Law, Urgent Implementation

Members of Congress at the Summit pointed to the ROAD to Housing Act as proof that both parties can deliver on an issue constituents increasingly rank among their top concerns. The law targets the barriers that constrain homebuilding.

"I think the people of the United States wanted to see something like this," said House Financial Services Housing and Insurance Subcommittee Ranking Member Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO). "The overwhelming majority want the government to work. They want people that they elect to come to Washington and get something done."

House Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill (R-AR) described passage as a top priority and framed the law as a supply-side reform.

"There was a commitment from the top and both committees that we thought housing reform, from a supply side point of view, was critical and long overdue," Rep. Hill said.

Business Leaders Step In

Ross Perot Jr., Chairman of The Perot Companies and Hillwood and Chair of the U.S. Chamber Board of Directors, emphasized integrating residential and industrial development.

"If you do residential right, you have a huge impact on families and society," he said. He also called for right-sizing regulations and stressed infrastructure's role in regional development.

"The United States is the most powerful nation in the world, there are a lot of rules and regulations, if we modify those rule and regulations and let American entrepreneurs and business thrive, we can get a lot done," Perot Jr. said.

JPMorganChase is deploying capital through its American Dream Initiative to expand housing supply and support homeownership. Tim Berry, the firm's Global Head of Corporate Responsibility and Chairman of the Mid-Atlantic Region, framed the stakes in economic terms.

"It's about…growing those communities, growing the national economy, and building long-term prosperity so that young people believe in the system and believe that they can afford a home," Berry told U.S. Chamber Executive Vice President Neil Bradley.

Resilience also featured in the discussion. Mackenzie Smith Ledet, Head of Government Affairs at James Hardie Industries, argued that durability belongs in any affordability calculation.

"A home is not truly affordable if a family cannot insure, maintain, and remain in it after a storm," Ledet said.

The Cost of Doing Business

Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development Secretary Jake Day drew a direct line from housing costs to corporate balance sheets.

"If we remember that houses are where jobs go to sleep at night. Then, we must also acknowledge that the cost of housing ultimately is the cost of doing business," Day said.

JPMorganChase's Karen Purcell, Head of Community Development Banking, pointed to retention as the pressure point.

"Your best talent is not working for your company if they have to drive too far from the place they can afford. You're not going to retain them efficiently and economically," Purcell said.

Building the Workforce

The labor gap looms over any supply push. Brendan McCluskey, founder and president of Baltimore-based Trident Builders and a member of the U.S. Chamber's Small Business Council, described the mismatch in his city.

"[In Baltimore], we have a workforce shortage but then we have all these unemployed youths. How do we connect these young men and women to a good middle-class job?" McCluskey said.

The Lowe's Foundation offers one template. It committed $50 million over five years to place at least 50,000 people into skilled trades — and hit the goal a year early. The Foundation has since raised its commitment to $250 million over the next 10 years to place at least 250,000 people into skilled trades careers.

"These are great pathways, great careers. It's not a fallback relative to college. It is an option that has a lot of upside," said Jana Barresi, Vice President, Government Affairs, Lowe's and a Lowe's Foundation board member.

The Chamber's Playbook

The U.S. Chamber is attacking the shortage from three angles: reducing barriers to building, increasing access to capital, and strengthening the workforce. Its new Housing Advisory Council brings together companies that build, finance and supply housing to advance solutions at the federal, state and local levels.

The Chamber also partnered with the American Enterprise Institute's Housing Center to produce Strong Foundations: A Playbook for Housing and Economic Growth — more than 6,000 localized housing playbooks covering all 50 states and thousands of metropolitan areas, counties and cities. Built on local data, the playbooks identify housing pressures and opportunities to increase supply.

Over the coming year, the Chamber plans to work with state and local chambers, business leaders and community stakeholders to put those playbooks into action — translating local data into policy changes that remove regulatory barriers to production.