Tag: workforce: Page 27

Workforce

Sioux Falls women finding work they love in construction industry

After seeing the results of a Pew Research survey saying 40 percent of U.S. moms are now the breadwinners in their households, news station KSFY out of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, did some digging and filed an interesting report about the number of women in the area now doing construction work. KSFY talked to several women […]

June 17, 2013

Workforce

$1.5B University of Connecticut expansion to create 30k construction jobs

Lawmakers in Connecticut have approved a $1.5 billion expansion of the University of Connecticut that will create 30,000 construction jobs, according to the Associated Press. Dubbed “Next Generation Connecticut” the plan and praised by UConn President Susan Herbst as “Nothing short of transformational,” the project will build new classrooms, labs and housing. Construction will take place […]

June 12, 2013

Workforce

Skilled labor shortage slows Michigan’s response to growing demand for new homes

After 60,000 of Michigan’s skilled home builders were put out of work during the recession, many left the state to find work elsewhere while some left the trade entirely, reports the Detroit Free Press. Michigan is the latest of several states around the country to report skilled labor shortages as demand for construction rebounds. The […]

June 11, 2013

Workforce

Construction industry adds 7k jobs in May, unemployment drops to lowest rate in nearly 5 years

The construction industry added 7,000 jobs in May to reach its highest total of workers in nearly four years, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Preliminary data from the BLS showed that the industry lost 6,000 jobs in April. But a revision reduced that loss to 2,000, meaning if May’s gains […]

June 7, 2013

Technology

BIM and iPad use quickly gaining traction in construction industry thanks to productivity boosts

Using an iPad or another of the myriad tablets on the market today to view plans and blueprints on the jobsite is not a new concept to the construction industry. But it is one gaining considerable traction in recent years as firms look to avoid costly mistakes in efforts to boost efficiency. So when a […]

June 5, 2013

Workforce

European neighbors look to Germany’s vocational training system in order to combat high youth unemployment rates

As of late, Germany has been receiving a lot of attention and praise for its dual-education system. A system the country credits for its very low 8-percent youth unemployment rate. For comparison, as outlined in a great new article from The Economist, European counterparts Spain and Italy have youth unemployment rates of 56 percent and […]

June 4, 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

Women breaking through construction industry’s “concrete ceiling”

While women still hold the same percentage of the 8.4 million construction jobs in the United States as they did in 1983—a low 2.6 percent—a new report from CNN Money/Fortune shows that the number might be a bit misleading. The latest data shows that while women aren’t occupying carpentry, plumbing or the other intensive labor occupations […]

May 23, 2013

Business

Immigration bill gains Senate committee’s approval, retains limit on construction visas but increases H-1B visas for highly skilled workers

With a 13-5 vote Tuesday night, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved an immigration bill that would give 11.5 million immigrants living in the United States illegally a chance at citizenship, the Associated Press reported. The bill retains the new guest worker program, called the “W-Visa,” that would make a maximum of 200,000 visas available each year. […]

May 23, 2013

Safety

Utah leads U.S. in decline of construction deaths, D.C. tops list of injury declines

Construction deaths declined at a faster rate in Utah between 2008 and 2011 than in any other state, according to new rankings from the Association of General Contractors of America. Derived from an analysis of federal safety data, the AGC’s ranking compared the number of construction deaths for each state with available data and Washington, D.C. in […]

May 21, 2013

Driver/operator coaching/training

You may already be in violation of OSHA’s new service truck crane rules and not know it

Editors note: Last week OSHA proposed to delay service truck crane operator certification from November 1014 to November 2017. We have edited the following article to reflect that change. A complex new regulation is shaking up the world of small, truck-mounted cranes used to service construction machines and deliver building materials. Until recently, cranes with […]

May 21, 2013