America’s backbone is cracking. Electricians. Plumbers. HVAC techs. These workers—JLL dubs them the “silent army”—keep buildings humming, data centers cool, factories running. Now they’re retiring en masse, with no replacements in sight. By 2030, 2.1 million jobs could sit empty, dragging the economy by up to $1 trillion a year , per U.S. Department of Education estimates cited in JLL’s new report shared exclusively with Fortune . Last year alone, 600,000 skilled trades positions posted online. Only 150,000 filled through apprenticeships. One in five construction workers tops 55. Thirty-nine percent of electricians hit 45 or older by May 2023. Facilities managers? Thirty-nine percent over 55, double the all-occupations rate of 28 percent. Retirements outpace entrants 5-to-2. The math doesn’t lie. And it’s not abstract. Half of U.S. commercial buildings predate 1990. Modernizing them demands hands-on pros as the workforce shrinks.…