Tag: recession: Page 3

Business

Believe it or not, most Americans think good roads are more important than their iPhone or TV

To say the findings of a recent study reported on by our sister site Better Roads are a bit shocking is an understatement. Maybe the understatement of the year. Be honest. If you had access to a swath of the American population and could ask them what they value more than their iPhone or cable […]

June 5, 2013

Workforce

Facing $9 billion in demand, Iowa contractors feel impact of skilled labor shortage

Add Iowa to a growing list of states struggling to meet rebounding construction demand due to a shortage of skilled laborers. According to a report from the Des Moines Register, contractors in Iowa have reported shortages of equipment operators, steel workers, carpenters, supervisors and concrete workers. These companies expect those shortages to deepen in the coming […]

June 3, 2013

Business

Nonresidential construction index indicates gradual improvement, notes concerns with sequester, labor shortage

The FMI Nonresidential Construction Index has reached the highest mark since its inception in the first quarter of 2009. Released this week, the second quarter 2013 edition of the NRCI reached 60.1. FMI, a management consultant and investment banking provider, surveys a group of panelists each quarter to measure the health of the nonresidential construction […]

May 30, 2013

Workforce

Skilled construction worker shortage already stifling economic recovery

It looks like Executive Editor Tom Jackson’s fear of construction’s current labor shortage stifling the economic recovery is already coming true. According to a recent report from the Associated Press, construction companies across the country say they feel the economy could be doing even better if they could find enough workers. They say they have […]

May 17, 2013

Business

U.S. rental construction, lack of first-time home buyers a sign of “inferior housing recovery”?

Despite recent dips in construction spending and employment, the mood in the industry is, well, better. Better than it was last year anyway as 151,000 jobs have been added since then, the unemployment rate is down to 13.2 percent and spending is up 5 percent. As we’ve noted before, a lot of this has to […]

May 8, 2013

Business

Housing starts jump 7% in March to highest level since before recession

The housing recovery boom marches on. Following a month of stagnation in February, housing starts jumped 7 percent in March to their highest levels since June 2008, according to preliminary data from the U.S. Commerce Department. The big month pushed construction on houses and apartments over the seven figure threshold to a seasonally adjusted rate […]

April 16, 2013

Workforce

NAHB survey finds labor shortages in “all aspects” of home building

According to a survey conducted by the National Association of Home Builders, labor shortages are hurting the housing and economic recoveries here in the U.S. Since June 2012, residential construction firms are seeing a growing number of shortages in all positions in the industry including carpenters, excavators, framers, roofers, plumbers, bricklayers, HVAC, building maintenance managers and […]

March 25, 2013

Business

Construction companies, AGC lobby Congress to spare programs from sequester cuts

With an estimated $4 billion in federal construction projects in jeopardy due to the sequestration cuts that took effect March 1, construction companies have begun lobbying the government to spare their projects, the New York Times reports. The Associated General Contractors of America has flooded Congress with e-mails and letters protesting the cuts. The sequester […]

March 14, 2013

Workforce

Big construction employment gains indicate rising contractor confidence

On Friday the latest round of figures from the U.S. Labor Department showed that the construction industry enjoyed its highest monthly gain in six years by adding 48,000 jobs in February. The construction industry employs 5.784 million Americans as of February. That’s the highest mark the industry has attained since September 2009 and is a 2.5-percent […]

March 11, 2013

Business

Ritchie Bros. president sees turnaround for construction; unsure on value of Tier 4

The Ritchie Bros. equipment auction is in full swing here in Kissimmee, Florida, and given the robust nature of the sales company, President Rob Mackay sees things getting better for the future of the construction economy. The company saw its sales increase worldwide to $3.9 billion last year and Mackay says recent auctions in Houston, […]

February 21, 2013

Workforce

Economists forecast housing-fueled construction job growth

Goldman Sachs economists recently forecasted a housing recovery-fueled increase to the pace of added jobs each month to between 25,000 and 30,000, CNBC reported. In 2012 that pace averaged out at 14,000 per month. Due to the 1.5 million jobs lost in residential construction between 2006 and 2011, the economists warn that even with the […]

February 20, 2013

Business

Nonresidential construction index stagnates year-to-year, mixed outlook for 2013

The FMI Nonresidential Construction index rose to 58.1 in the first quarter of 2013, up 2.6 points from Q4 2012’s 55.6. The index sits at the same mark of 58.1 as one year ago, but up greatly from the 35.6 in Q1 2011. With the fiscal cliff and great political uncertainty of 2012 behind it, […]

February 12, 2013