2013 RSMeans Labor Rates for the Construction Industry. the United States and Canada. Wage rates listed are the actual negotiated union rates or a reliable estimate for each of the 46 construction trades. This versatile manual is ideally suited for making comparisons between cities and combinations of cities, and for rapidly determining wage scales above or below national averages. Through the use of a special index, factors are provided to convert the national average labor figures in Building Construction Cost Data 2013 to local labor costs by individual trades.