San Francisco tech surge pushing up labour costs in high-end building boom

San Francisco

FOR real estate developers such as Jeff Peterson, losing construction workers who can hang drywall, install plumbing and pour concrete in the San Francisco Bay area has become routine.

"Guys are literally going to jobs and saying to the concrete crew, 'Hey, what are you making per hour?'" said Mr Peterson, a purchasing director at Trumark Cos, a San Ramon, California-based developer of residential real estate. "'We'll pay you US$2, US$3, US$4 more to come work for us.' It's driving up labour costs quickly."

With San Francisco in the midst of an office and condominium construction boom to accommodate the technology industry and its workers, real estate companies are vying for crews to finish projects in a tight labour market. That's contributing…