March Construction Starts Surge 16 Percent

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New construction starts in March advanced 16% from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $809.2 billion, according to Dodge Data & Analytics. The substantial gain followed a lackluster performance during the first two months of 2019, as total construction starts in March were able to climb back to a level slightly above the average monthly pace during 2018. The March data produced a reading of 171 for the Dodge Index (2000=100), up from 148 in February, and 1% higher than the full year 2018 average for the Dodge Index at 170. At the same time, the Dodge Index … Read more

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Construction Employment Increases in 38 States from March 2018 Year Over Year

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Thirty-eight states added construction jobs between March 2018 and March 2019, while construction employment increased in 29 states between February and March, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of Labor Department data. Association officials said the widespread gains show demand for workers remains strong and urged federal officials to enact immigration reforms to boost the supply of qualified workers. “Although construction has added jobs in many states at a higher rate than the private sector as a whole in the past year, the record number of job openings at the end of February shows contractors … Read more

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ABC Members Invest $1.6 Billion in Workforce Development Annually, New Survey Finds

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According to the results of Associated Builders and Contractors’ 2019 Workforce Development Survey, ABC members invested $1.6 billion to educate their employees in 2018, up from $1.1 billion in 2013. The 45% increase in spending resulted in nearly twice as many course attendees—more than 980,000—receiving craft, leadership and safety education to advance their careers in commercial and industrial construction. “The increase in spending on education demonstrates ABC member contractors’ commitment to developing employees, which is producing results in recruiting and retaining a skilled, safe and productive workforce,” said Greg Sizemore, ABC’s vice president of health, safety, education and workforce development. … Read more

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Haselden Wins National Safety Excellence Award

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Haselden Construction recently won the Associated General Contractors of America Willis Towers Watson Construction Safety Excellence Award. The company, which at the time of application had more than 500 employees who worked more than one million man hours on jobsites in Colorado and Wyoming in 2018, competed against construction companies nationwide of similar or larger size. Finalists presented to a panel of industry and safety experts, and winners were announced at the AGC Annual Convention, held earlier this month. The AGC Construction Safety Excellence Award is considered the industry’s leading safety award for general and specialty contractors, service providers and … Read more

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National Veterans Memorial and Museum in Ohio Named 2018 Best Construction Project

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Columbus, Ohio’s National Veterans Memorial and Museum was the most significant construction project of 2018, according to the Associated General Contractors of America. As a result, the project’s contractor, Turner Construction Company, received the association’s Construction Risk Partners Build America Grand Award, as well as the award for the best new building between $10 to $75 million. The 55,000-square-foot facility features minimalistic interior features and a complex exterior curtainwall. But the custom cast-in-place concrete arch superstructure is the building’s defining feature. This challenging design included a distinct geometric curve shape that limited design options, as “out-of-plane” geometry is extremely rare … Read more

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