How to Hire a General Laborer in Virginia

$21/hr

Define cleanup and material duties, then arrange supervision before dispatch.

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About this Guide

Recruit for construction site support with a clear task list and reporting plan. This guide connects Virginia employers with laborer training routes and employee wage comparisons. Assess material handling, housekeeping and communication together. Temporary recruits need the same clear instructions about hazards and boundaries as permanent crew members.

Who's available right now

Virginia · this week
Live on American Recruits

Verified general laborers are on the market in Virginia this week

Candidate availability moves week to week. What does not move is the screening: the certifications below are what decide whether someone can be badged onto your site at all.

Search candidates
Available candidates
Steady
Profiles in Virginia
With current OSHA cards
Most
Verified against the document
Typical time to fill
2–4 weeks
Verified and ready to badge

Understanding different hiring levels

The levels are separated by what the state allows a person to do unsupervised, not by how good they are. Hiring the wrong level is the most common and most expensive mistake on a trade requisition.

ACheapest to hireApprentice / helper

Productive under supervision and cheap, but they cannot be left on a task the state licenses, and they need someone qualified with them.

What they'll actually be doing
  • ✓Material handling and site preparation
  • ✓Assist a qualified hand on installation
  • ✓Housekeeping and tool staging
What they can't do yet — legally
  • ✕Cannot work unsupervised on licensed work
  • ✕Cannot sign off their own work at inspection
What they need to hold
OSHA 10Apprentice registration where the state requires it
Worth doing
Paying for their certifications is the cheapest retention mechanism you have — the card raises their rate with you rather than with the next employer.
Where recruiters stall
Hiring at this level to save money and then needing licensed work signed off is what blows the schedule.
Only hire when
Use them where a qualified hand is already on site and the work is supervised.
JWhat most requisitions needJourneyman / qualified

Works unsupervised and can carry a helper. This is the level almost every requisition is actually describing.

What they'll actually be doing
  • ✓Runs work without supervision
  • ✓Builds from drawings
  • ✓Carries one to three helpers
  • ✓Handles inspection on their own work
What they can't do yet — legally
  • ✕Usually cannot pull permits in their own name
  • ✕Cannot act as the licence-holder of record
What they need to hold
Journeyman card where the state issues oneOSHA 30Current trade-specific safety training
Worth doing
Ask what they ran on their own and who supervised it. The answer separates a journeyman from a long-serving helper faster than any certificate.
Where recruiters stall
Employers accept "in progress" as though it were held. It is not — and on a licensed scope it stops the job.
Only hire when
Hire here for anything that has to proceed without a supervisor standing over it.
MFor scope and sign-offMaster / lead

Runs crews across sites, owns compliance outcomes, and where the trade allows, pulls permits and qualifies the work.

What they'll actually be doing
  • ✓Runs crews across more than one site
  • ✓Owns compliance and inspection outcomes
  • ✓Estimates and scopes packages
What they can't do yet — legally
  • ✕Cannot trade as a business without a contractor licence, insurance and usually a bond
What they need to hold
Master or supervisor card where the state issues oneContinuing education current
Worth doing
Local permit experience is worth more than generic years. Ask which jurisdictions they have pulled in.
Where recruiters stall
Paying master rates for work a journeyman could run is the other half of the level mistake.
Only hire when
Hire here when the scope needs sign-off, sequencing or several crews.

What a general laborer costs in Virginia

Budget $20.94 an hour for a qualified general laborer in Virginia, from $15.82 at entry level to $27.46 at the top. Add a quarter to a third on top for payroll taxes, insurance and equipment, and price overtime at time and a half.

Hourly range
$15.82–$27.46
Virginia · before burden
See the full general laborer salary guide →

Legal & compliance checklist

Virginia presumes employee status unless independence is demonstrated. Workers' compensation applies above two regularly employed workers, including applicable subcontractor crews. Business licensing and VOSH duties remain separate from course completion.

Licence & verificationMust haveVerify against the issuing board, not the résumé.0 / 3
0 / 3
Safety & site accessMust haveWithout these they cannot be badged onto most sites.0 / 3
0 / 3
Employment & insuranceMust haveGetting the status wrong is the expensive mistake here.0 / 3
0 / 3
Practical & schedulingSite-drivenDriven by the site rather than by law, but they still stop a start date.0 / 3
0 / 3

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Where to find them in Virginia

Contact the LIUNA fund, PVCC Workforce Services and Danville Career Services about construction support recruitment.

Union Apprenticeship

LIUNA Training Fund

Ask Local 980's training fund about apprentices. Work hours accompany 400 instructional hours. Member eligibility applies.
Typical length4,000 work hours
What it costs$0 member tuition
College Foundation

PVCC

Approach Workforce Services about introductory construction students learning material handling, tools and communication in Charlottesville.
Typical length12 sessions
What it costs$1,098 full tuition
Safety Course

Danville Community College

Post openings through Career Services and ask Workforce Services about OSHA 10 participants seeking site-support work.
Typical length10 hours
What it costs$125 tuition

Screen them properly

Certificates get a candidate past the first filter. These are the questions that separate the ones who can do the work from the ones who have the paperwork, and they change by level.

Interview questions that actually filter

01What did you do on your last site, task by task?
Why it matters: A specific answer tells you what they have actually held in their hands. A vague one usually means they watched.
02Who signed your hours, and can we call them?
Why it matters: Undocumented hours are the single most common problem at this level, and it is the employer who discovers it later.
03Which tools do you own?
Why it matters: It is a proxy for commitment to the trade, and it tells you what you will be supplying on day one.

Red flags on the résumé

!

Certifications listed with no issuing body or date

!

A licence described as 'in progress'

!

No supervisor anyone can call

!

Three or four employers inside a year

!

Long gaps with no explanation offered

!

Cards that lapsed and were never renewed

How long the hire takes

A realistic schedule for a certified general laborer, from writing the requisition to a badged start. The screening steps are where time is actually lost.

Day 0

Scope and post the role

Day 2–7

Shortlist and verify cards

Day 7–10

Interview and reference

Day 10–14

Offer and drug screen

Day 14–21

Site orientation and badging

Rates by sector

Budget construction support for each work setting, including allowances for supervision and benefits.

01 / 03$24.08/hr

Highway and Bridge Construction

Highway support puts newcomers near moving plant. Assign clear unloading zones and explain who directs material movements before the shift begins.

+ Crew continuity
+ Infrastructure experience
– Traffic exposure
– Weather disruption
02 / 03$24.01/hr

Nonresidential Building Construction

Building crews need dependable cleanup between deliveries. Give recruits a defined area and coordinate supply runs with the trades sharing access.

+ Trade contact
+ Task variety
– Access congestion
– Delivery conflicts
03 / 03$17.44/hr

Employment Services

Temporary assignments need clear handovers between agency and site. Agree duties, supervision and time approval before sending a worker into production.

+ Staffing flexibility
+ Candidate access
– Repeated orientation
– Assignment turnover

Questions employers ask

Do we need a written silica plan before laborers cut concrete?▾
Yes, if the work exposes them to respirable crystalline silica. VOSH adopts the construction silica rule, which requires a written exposure control plan and a competent person to implement it.
Can our laborers remove suspected asbestos debris?▾
No. Virginia Code § 54.1-503 bars contracting for asbestos project work without an asbestos contractor license, and DPOR's Board for Asbestos, Lead, and Home Inspectors also licenses individual asbestos workers. Stop work and arrange an inspection.
Can we place 17-year-old laborers on demolition cleanup?▾
No. Virginia's child labor law, enforced by DOLI, keeps workers under 18 out of demolition and wrecking operations in any capacity, including cleanup within those operations.

Hire a General Laborer in Virginia

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Current BLS Virginia employee wages for Construction Laborers, SOC 47-2061; construction site support only, excluding premium pay and benefits.

Last updated October 27, 2026. Rates are market estimates, not guarantees.