Related Links: Bureau of Labor Statistics release, with data tables Analysis from ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu Analysis from AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson ENR story on Feb 2012 construction jobless rate Construction’s unemployment rate rose slightly, to 17.2% in March, from February’s 17.1%, as the industry lost an estimated 7,000 jobs last month. But the rate was better than March 2011's mark of 20%. The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ latest monthly status report on the employment picture, released on April 6, showed that jobs lost in the buildings-construction sector outweighed gains in the heavy-civil and residential specialty trades segments.Architectural and
Related Links: Dept. of Justice press release The former chief executive of a Pennsylvania company that made concrete bridge beams has been convicted on multiple counts of fraud and money laundering in what the U.S. Dept. of Transportation says is the largest reported Disadvantaged Business Enterprise fraud in the department’s 45-year history.The Justice Dept. said a jury in U.S. District Court in Harrisburg on April 5 found Joseph W. Nagle guilty on 26 of the 30 charges in a federal indictment. Nagle (pronounced NOGG-ull) was president, CEO and part-owner of Schuylkill Products Inc. (SPI), Cressona, Pa., and its CDS Engineering
Related Links: Report by GSA Inspector General's office The head of the U.S. General Services Administration, Martha Johnson, resigned on April 2 and earlier removed the leader of GSA's Public Buildings Service and another senior official from their jobs, an Obama administration official says. The shakeup was sparked by an inspector general’s report blasting GSA for “excessive and wasteful” spending and failing to follow federal contracting rules on a 2010 conference whose price tag exceeded $822,000. The Obama administration official said the two GSA executives removed were PBS Commissioner Robert Peck and Stephen Leeds, senior counselor to Johnson. The administration official
Related Links: Senate Passes $109B Highway-Transit Bill As a March 31 deadline loomed, House Republicans continued to struggle to pass legislation that would keep federal highway and transit programs operating for at least several weeks.House GOP leaders on March 27 had proposed a two-month extension, but later in the day postponed a scheduled floor vote on that measure.The day before, Republicans canceled a planned vote on a three-month extension, apparently because they lacked the two-thirds majority needed to pass it.Surface transportation programs have been running under a series of extensions since September 2009, when the last long-term authorization ran out.Brian
Related Links: Highway-Transit Stopgap Stuck in House Senate Passes $109B Highway-Transit Bill Beating a March 31 deadline with little time to spare, Congress has approved—and President Obama has signed—legislation that would keep federal highway and transit programs running for the next three months. The stopgap is the ninth short-term extension since September 2009, when the last multi-year authorization expired. Final congressional action on the bill came on March 29, when the Senate passed it on a voice vote. Earlier in the day, the House had cleared the measure by a 266-158 tally.Obama signed the bill on March 30, one day before
Related Links: Industry Sees Recovery Ahead After Four Years of Gloom Read the Complete 2012 Q1 Cost Report PDF Three years ago, when construction was reeling from the slumping economy, the federal government provided welcome relief for design firms and contractors: Uncle Sam started to pump about $130 billion in stimulus-act construction funding and a similar amount of regular appropriations into the market.But now, with the construction stimulus funds nearly all spent or spoken for, Congress is tightening federal purse strings. Current and probable future cuts in infrastructure and buildings programs pose yet another obstacle to recovery for a construction
Related Links: Justice Dept. press release Five Harbert construction companies, most of which reportedly are defunct, have agreed to pay $47 million to the U.S. government to settle allegations of bid-rigging on a U.S. Agency for International Development-funded sewer system project in Egypt built more than 15 years ago, the Justice Dept. said.The Justice Dept. said on March 20 that Harbert Corp., Harbert International Inc., Bill Harbert International Constructions Inc., Harbert Construction Services (U.K.) Ltd. and Bilhar International Establishment agreed to make the payment to resolve allegations under the False Claims Act that they conspired to rig bids on a
Related Links: As Transport Bill Muddle Continues, State DOTs Cope With Funding Uncertainty Highway-Transit Bills' Progress Slows in House, Senate The long struggle to achieve a surface-transportation funding bill has reached an important milepost, as the Senate passed a two-year bill authorizing $109-billion for highway and transit programs. Approval came March 14 on a strong, bipartisan 74-22 vote, as 22 Republicans joined 52 Democrats to support the measure.The focus quickly shifted to the House, where Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has had trouble finding votes to pass a five-year, $260-billion transportation-energy package that has made it through committee.Senate Environment and Public
The push for a multiyear surface- transportation bill has suffered a setback on a Senate procedural vote on March 6. Backers of a two-year, $109-billion measure fell eight votes short of the 60 needed for cloture to cut off debate and move ahead on the bill.House Republicans at press time were determining how—or whether—to revise a five-year, $260-billion bill that had cleared committee. On March 1, Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said there is GOP opposition to an 18-month bill. "Apparently, our members don't think too highly of it. I would only look at it as a fallback measure," he said.
It has traveled a long, bumpy path, but a controversial proposal to build a major bridge between Minnesota and Wisconsin has moved a giant step closer to a groundbreaking. Congress has cleared a bill exempting the estimated $626.4-million St. Croix River bridge from the requirements of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. The 1968 statute bars federally funded projects that would harm such rivers' scenic qualities.