Construction's unemployment rate continues to rise, reaching a grim 27.1% in February, its highest level in a decade, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported. In its latest monthly employment report, released on March 5, BLS says that construction's jobless rate last month was up from 24.7% in January and also represented an increase from the February 2009 mark of 21.4%. BLS reports that construction shed another 64,000 jobs in February, bringing the industry's total job losses since December 2007 to 1.9 million. The BLS construction jobless rate isn't adjusted for seasonal variations. In the highly seasonal construction industry, even
The House has approved a $15-billion jobs package that includes an extension for highway and transit programs through December and a financial infusion to strengthen the Highway Trust Fund. The measure, which the House passed on March 4 by a 217-201 vote, next goes back to the Senate because it differs from the version that the Senate approved on Feb. 24. Besides extending surface-transportation programs through Dec. 31, the House-passed bill bolsters the Highway Trust Fund through an approximately $20-billion transfer from the general fund. It also would restore $8.7 billion in highway obligation authority that was rescinded on Sept.
Federal highway and transit programs are back in business, but only through March 28, thanks to enactment late on March 2 of a delayed stopgap funding measure. But state and industry officials noted that the respite is brief. They are hoping that Congress soon will pass a further highway-transit extension, through Dec. 31. The newly enacted stopgap bill, which also extends unemployment insurance and COBRA health benefits for several weeks, gained final congressional approval with Senate passage on a strong 78-19 vote. President Obama signed the bill later on March 2. The action marks an end to a two-day shutdown
After serving three years as acting head of the office of the Architect of the Capitol, Stephen T. Ayers has been nominated to a full, 10-year term as the Capitol Architect. The "AOC" is responsible for maintaining and operating the Capitol building, as well as the Library of Congress, Supreme Court building and other federal facilities on and near Capitol Hill. President Obama sent Ayers' nomination to the Senate on Feb. 24. Ayers next will go through the Senate confirmation process. Ayers, a 13-year veteran of the AOC office, has served as acting architect since February 2007, when Alan M.
Even as slimmed down as it is, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s new jobs bill has provisions that construction officials like, but the $15-billion measure is much less generous to public works than the $154-billion version the House passed in December. With Democrats’ Senate majority no longer filibuster-proof and GOP votes hard to get, Reid faces a tough fight to get his bill approved. Photo: Manuel Balce Ceneta / AP Reid’s bill has an incentive for companies to hire new workers, plus an expanded bond program and an extension for a depreciation break. The Nevada Democrat’s proposal, introduced Feb. 11,
The Dept. of Transportation has awarded $1.5 billion in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grants to 51 projects that are expected to have a significant regional or national impact. The Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant winners cross most transportation modes, from bicycle paths to major bridges and freight-rail projects. Related Links: View summaries of each winning project DOT's awards, announced Feb. 17, range from $3.2 million for a Burlington, Vt., waterfront project, to $105 million for the "Crescent Corridor" freight rail-improvement program in Tennessee and Alabama. Interest in the TIGER program far outstripped the dollars DOT had available.
House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman James Oberstar (D-Minn.) helped shape the infrastructure portions of what became last year's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. He also was a key player in the Jobs for Main Street bill that the House passed in December and continues to push for his six-year, $500-billion highway-transit-rail reauthorization measure. In a one-on-one interview with ENR Washington Bureau Chief Tom Ichniowski Feb. 3 in the "T&I" committee's offices in the Rayburn House Office Building, Oberstar discussed the impact of the stimulus measure so far and the need for further legislation. ENR : Are you pleased with
Transportation agencies have been near the front of the pack in getting American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds out the door. In highways, state depts. of transportation have $16.8 billion in ARRA projects under construction, says David Bauer, American Road & Transportation Builders Association senior vice president. That represents 63% of ARRA’s $26.7 billion in formula highway aid. “If it’s under construction, it’s supporting employment,” he says. Related Links: As Federal Dollars Pour Out, A Second Stimulus Plan Grows Electricity Programs See Work Start to Surge Water, Cleanup Sectors See Mixed ARRA Prognosis Buildings Project List Still Long U.S. Dept.
In the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s first year on the books, its billions of construction dollars have been a lifeline for an industry battered by a long economic slump. Firms that snagged ARRA-funded contracts have been able to keep workers or add to workforces. Even so, construction has a jobless rate of nearly 25%. As companies chase ARRA projects, they’re looking for more help from Congress. But neither a jobs bill nor transportation authorization is a sure thing. Illustration by Rafael Ricoy Related Links: Transport Sector Sets Rapid Pace Electricity Programs See Work Start to Surge Water, Cleanup Sectors
Construction's unemployment rate continues to rise, reaching 24.7% in January, its highest level since 2000, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported. BLS's latest monthly employment report, released on Feb. 5, shows that contruction's January jobless rate increased from 22.7% in December and 18.2% in January 2009. Construction lost 75,000 jobs in January, bringing total jobs lost since December 2007 to 1.9 million. Construction's 24.7% rate is the industry's highest since 2000, when BLS changed its system for classifying industries. The previous high was December's 22.7%. Under BLS's pre-2000 classification method, construction's highest jobless rate since 1948 came in February
