Tag: workforce: Page 25

Business

Labor shortage pushes up construction cost of Minnesota Vikings stadium

The Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority is in the process of doing a bit of recalculating and prioritizing as it faces the challenge of staying within the $975 million budget for the next home of the Minnesota Vikings in downtown Minneapolis. According to a report from Finance & Commerce, the challenge of finding skilled laborers has caused […]

October 7, 2013

Business

No housing, construction jobs or spending reports until government shutdown is over

Though we had a ton of news coming in to the site last week thanks to the big ICUEE 2013 show in Louisville, one story we didn’t have was the latest on job numbers in the construction industry. That’s because the government provides those numbers and, as we’re sure you’re aware, the government is shut […]

October 7, 2013

Business

Qatar World Cup construction could leave 4,000 workers dead

The International Trade Union Confederation claims that construction underway to prepare Qatar for hosting the 2022 World Cup will leave migrant 4,000 workers dead if current practices aren’t changed. According to a report from British newspaper The Guardian, the ITUC says that it expects 12 workers to die per week, more than 600 per year, […]

September 27, 2013

Workforce

Louisiana construction firms face skilled labor shortage compounded by energy boom in surrounding regions

Construction firms in Louisiana are facing a heightened short-term need for skilled workers thanks a boom in petrochemical and chemical plant construction. That’s the good news. The bad news, however, is that due to other booms in nuclear plant construction in the rest of the Southeast and the shale boom in the Midwest and Rockies, those […]

September 19, 2013

Business

Will recruiting Millennials to the construction and manufacturing industries prove impossible?

Last week we told you about a survey by Associated General Contractors of America in which 74 percent of contractors across the U.S. reported having trouble finding skilled workers. The problem, well-known at this point, is that during the recession many of the most skilled operators and craftsmen in this industry either left for more […]

September 12, 2013

Business

Construction employment flat in August amid weak U.S. jobs report

Employment in the U.S. construction industry was flat in August, remaining at the same mark of 5.798 million Americans employed as July, according to preliminary data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. August’s mark is 3 percent higher than the 5.630 million Americans employed by the industry at the same time last year. The industry’s […]

September 6, 2013

Business

AGC: 74% of U.S. construction firms having trouble finding skilled workers; most expect trend to continue

A recent survey done by Associated General Contractors of America found that 74 percent of construction companies are having trouble finding skilled workers. The most frequently reported positions contractors are having trouble filling include carpenters, equipment operators and laborers, according to the survey. Meanwhile, 53 percent of responding contractors reported having a hard time filling […]

September 5, 2013

Safety

1938 Labor Dept. film warns of deadly silica dust, explains how Silicosis can be prevented

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration recently announced plans to update 40-year-old standards for lowering worker exposure to crystalline silica. Workers involved in the cutting, sawing, drilling and crushing of concrete, brick, block and other stone products are exposed to the dust. Exposure can cause the condition silicosis, an inflammation and scarring of the lungs, as well as lung cancer, chronic […]

September 5, 2013

Workforce

Twin Cities contractors strike out on their own amid sluggish hiring, housing rebound

As a result of still-sluggish hiring in the middle of a housing rebound, more and more contractors in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area have begun to work as independent contractors, according to a report by the The Star Tribune. Construction in the Twin Cities is up 24 percent compared to this time last year. Despite the […]

August 28, 2013

Business

Phoenix contractors unable to meet demand of construction rebound due to skilled worker shortage

After losing nearly half of its construction jobs in the throes of the recession, Phoenix, Arizona is now in the middle of a construction rebound—but unable to hire enough skilled workers to meet demand. “To hire someone right now, you have to offer them more money to draw them away from another company,” construction supervisor […]

August 27, 2013

Workforce

The construction industry now accounts for the most U.S. workplace deaths thanks to a 5% increase in 2012

With 775 fatal injuries in 2012, private construction rose to the top of all U.S. industries in the number of workplace deaths, according to preliminary data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Deaths in the construction industry were up 5 percent from 2011—the first increase after five consecutive years of declines. Since 2006, construction deaths […]

August 26, 2013

Workforce

GM’s FIRST Competition teaches kids to build, battle robots to build interest in STEM careers

What do you do with kids who think math and science are boring? Give them a pile of parts, some software and computers, and let them build a robot. That in a nutshell is the FIRST Competition, a nationwide program put together by General Motors that’s meant to fire up the imaginations of kids and […]

August 23, 2013