There’s a significant labor shortage in construction in the U.S. Though there’s been a steady flow of new hires on a monthly basis, there have been almost as many workers quitting in the same period, which has left a deficit in the industry; the incoming hires have merely been stemming the flow of workers leaving.

The labor shortage in construction isn’t a problem that’s unique to the U.S., however; it’s very much a global issue. Europe in particular has been struggling significantly in attracting skilled talent to roles in construction. According to a report by the EU’s European Labor Authority, the majority of the countries in the EU have been facing a severe shortage of labor in various roles in the construction industry.

Even markets like India, which have traditionally had a labor surplus, haven’t been immune. Last month we took a peek behind the curtain and spoke to four founders in construction tech to get a glimpse at what the future holds for the industry. While we didn’t specifically touch on the labor shortage for that story, the founders did allude to it when they spoke about how a lot of tasks like bricklaying may need to be performed by robots, with automation taking on a critical role in the industry.