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Price Atlas for the Skilled Trades 2026:
70% of businesses are looking for skilled workers – digitalisation is becoming a productivity lever
For the fifth time, OneQrew is publishing a new analysis of hourly rates in the skilled trades, showing how businesses can manage rising costs and shortages of skilled workers.
Freiburg, March 2026 – The skilled trades sector is working at full capacity: demand remains high, while many businesses lack the skilled workers they need. This development is also reflected in the results of the fifth Skilled Trades Price Atlas 2026, now published by the software group OneQrew. The analysis presents current hourly rates across various trades and provides skilled trades businesses with valuable guidance for setting their prices.
The analysis is based on data from the OneQrew customer network. A total of 575 skilled trades businesses from different trades across Germany took part in the survey. It clearly shows that rising prices remain a reality in the skilled trades, while order levels remain stable at a high level.
In the current Price Atlas, the average hourly rate for a master craftsperson is around 73 euros, while the hourly rate for a journeyperson is approximately 64 euros. Compared with the 2025 Price Atlas, this represents an increase of 0.7% for master craftspersons and around 3% for journeypersons.
Businesses are working at full capacity
The survey results show that most skilled trades businesses continue to operate at high capacity. 73 percent of businesses rate their order situation as good or very good, while only 6 percent report available capacity.
At the same time, the shortage of skilled workers remains one of the industry’s greatest challenges. 70 percent of businesses are currently looking for employees, with an average shortfall of around 1.4 skilled workers per business.
As a result, many companies can only accept orders after a delay or have to turn down enquiries.
Productivity is decisive
In this environment, it is becoming increasingly important for skilled trades businesses to use their available resources as efficiently as possible.
“Our customers in the skilled trades experience every day just how scarce skilled workers have become and how significantly prices are changing. This makes it all the more important for businesses to know where they stand in the market and how to assess their prices on a sound basis. At the same time, valuable office time is still being lost to paperwork and manual processes.
Businesses that assess their prices properly and organise their processes more efficiently can increase productivity and complete orders more profitably,” say Benno Quade and Christoph Stoica, Co-CEOs of OneQrew GmbH, commenting on the current situation in skilled trades businesses.
A key lever here is the digitalisation of work processes. Digital solutions for quotations, invoices and intelligent mobile applications on site help to reduce unproductive hours and make better use of available working time.
Regional differences remain
The current Price Atlas also continues to reveal significant differences between regions and trades.
Particularly high hourly rates can be found in economically strong regions and metropolitan areas. In Hamburg, the average hourly rate for a master craftsperson is 76.45 euros, while skilled trades services in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, for example, are priced at a significantly lower level of 58.80 euros.
There are also clear differences between the individual trades. The trades with the highest average hourly rates include roofing/carpentry, metalwork and plant engineering, and plumbing, heating and air conditioning. By comparison, gardening and landscaping, as well as painting, plastering and stucco work, record lower average rates.
The skilled trades as a key sector
The importance of the skilled trades extends far beyond individual businesses. Whether it is the energy transition, building renovation or infrastructure projects, many of the central tasks shaping the future cannot be implemented without qualified skilled tradespeople.
Especially in times of skilled labour shortages and rising costs, it is becoming increasingly important to strengthen the sector economically. To secure the competitiveness of skilled trades businesses, young people need to be inspired to pursue careers in the trades, while digital solutions for process optimisation in existing skilled trades businesses must also be promoted. Productivity is increasingly becoming the decisive success factor for the skilled trades sector.
The Skilled Trades Price Atlas 2026 contributes to this by not only providing market transparency on price developments, but also by highlighting the structural challenges facing the sector. The Price Atlas offers guidance and provides skilled trades businesses with a sound basis for their price calculation and, above all, their positioning in the market.
Transparency and strategic planning in the skilled trades market
Transparency in the skilled trades market is not an end in itself, but a business necessity. Anyone seeking to manage prices strategically, plan investments securely and communicate confidently with customers needs reliable benchmarks rather than relying solely on experience.
The Skilled Trades Price Atlas 2026 is therefore a valuable tool that provides skilled trades businesses with guidance in an increasingly challenging market environment.
Methodology
For the Skilled Trades Price Atlas 2026, 575 skilled trades businesses from various trades were surveyed, including plumbing, heating and air conditioning, electrical, roofing, carpentry, joinery/cabinetmaking, metalwork, scaffolding, painting, plastering and stucco businesses.
The survey was conducted between 13 December and 27 December 2025 and was supplemented by anonymised data from the extensive OneQrew customer network.
About OneQrew GmbH:
OneQrew is one of the leading digital partners for the skilled trades and SMEs. More than 45,000 businesses with over 300,000 employees rely on OneQrew’s software solutions to manage their processes efficiently and digitally, from order processing to time tracking – in the office, in the workshop and on site.
With more than 800 employees and a strong network of specialised software companies, OneQrew combines many years of industry expertise with modern technology – from ERP and AI assistance to mobile applications such as real-time telematics and digital time tracking. Together, OneQrew’s customers generate more than 20 billion euros in annual value added, making them a central pillar of the economy in the DACH region.
