Construction Employment Declines in 49 States & D.C. in September Compared to Last Year as Industry Awaits Stimulus, Recovery

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Nevada and Arizona Experience Largest Declines and 41 States Experience Double-Digit Job Losses; Only Louisiana Adds Construction Jobs During the Past Year Construction employment again declined in large numbers in all but one state this September compared to last year according to an analysis of new state-by-state employment figures released today by the federal government. The analysis, conducted by the Associated General Contractors of America, also found that the number of states gaining construction jobs from August to September 2009 declined after increasing during the two previous months. “While there’s little doubt construction employment would have been worse without the … Read more

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Crystals at CityCenter, Las Vegas Achieves LEED Gold Certification

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Crystals is World’s Largest LEED Gold Certified Retail District LAS VEGAS, Nev — Crystals, the retail and entertainment district at CityCenter, has achieved LEED+ Gold Core & Shell certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), making it the world’s largest retail district to receive this level of recognition. Opening in December, CityCenter was created with a vision to introduce a new level of environmental consciousness to the world-famous Strip and has emerged as a leader in sustainable urban development. Crystals’ achievement marks the fourth LEED Gold certification for CityCenter; previous recipients included 1. ARIA Resort’s hotel tower, 2. ARIA’s … Read more

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Minimal Improvement in Architecture Billings Index

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Level of inquiries reaches highest mark in two years Washington, D.C. — As the nonresidential construction industry continues to struggle, the Architecture Billings Index (ABI) showed a nominal improvement in September. As a leading economic indicator of construction activity, the ABI reflects the approximate nine to twelve month lag time between architecture billings and construction spending. The American Institute of Architects (AIA) reported the September ABI rating was 43.1, up slightly from 41.7 in August. This score indicates a decline in demand for design services (any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings). The new projects inquiry score was … Read more

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Construction Market to Increase 11% in 2010, Says McGraw-Hill Construction Outlook Report

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — McGraw-Hill Construction, part of The McGraw-Hill Companies, today released its 2010 Construction Outlook, a mainstay of business planning for construction and manufacturing executives, which forecasts an increase in overall U.S. construction starts for next year. Due to improvement for housing from extremely low levels and broader expansion for public works, the level of construction starts in 2010 is expected to climb 11% to $466.2 billion, following the 25% decline predicted for 2009. “The U.S. construction market in 2010 will be helped by growth for several sectors, following three straight years of decline that brought total construction activity … Read more

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DOE Announces $87M in Funding to Support Solar Energy Technologies

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At the opening of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Solar Decathlon on the National Mall, Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced up to $87 million will be made available to support the development of new solar energy technologies and the rapid deployment of available carbon-free solar energy systems. Of this funding, $50 million comes from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The 47 projects with universities, electric power utilities, DOE’s national laboratories, and local governments have been selected to support use of solar technologies in U.S. cities, help address technical challenges, ensure reliable connectivity with the electrical grid, and train … Read more

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