Labor costs probably varies from city to city.

Handyman wants to make $50/hour here. A good friend of mine did some repair and he charged me $25/hour. We are short of handymen because of the Olympics construction, also because lots of trades people went to the oil fields where they can easily make $100K. Crazy time, trades make more than professionals.

As the market cools down, labor costs will come down too I guess.