Construction Job Growth Led by Nonresidential Sector, But Remains Tepid

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — National construction employment remained largely unchanged for the second consecutive month, adding 5,000 net new jobs on a seasonally adjusted basis in April, according to analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data released by Associated Builders and Contractors. The nonresidential construction sector added 3,200 net new jobs in April after adding 8,500 net jobs in March (revised down from 13,300), while the residential sector added just 900 net jobs for the month. Construction employment expanded 2.6 percent on yearly basis, well above the year-over-year growth rate for all nonfarm industries (+1.6 percent). “Today’s employment report confirms … Read more

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Construction Input Prices Moderate in March, Energy Prices Down

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — Construction input prices rose for the fourth consecutive month in March, increasing by .3 percent on a monthly basis and 4.4 percent on a yearly basis, according to analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data recently released by Associated Builders and Contractors. Nonresidential construction input prices performed similarly, increasing by .4 percent for the month and 4.4 percent for the year. Energy-related inputs experienced a sharp decline in prices for the month, with natural gas prices decreasing by 30 percent and crude petroleum prices falling by 10.8 percent. That said, those two inputs have increased by … Read more

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Associated Builders and Contractors Celebrates National Safety Week

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — Associated Builders and Contractors celebrates Safety Week 2017 with a call for the construction industry to pledge support for substance abuse prevention and implement additional safety processes that lead to world-class safety performance. According to a recent ABC report, member construction firms with a substance abuse program in place reduce their incident rates by more than one-third compared to the industry average, and those that implement proactive best practices in 20 key safety components reduce recordable incidents by up to 87 percent. “Associated Builders and Contractors believes that every jobsite incident is preventable, and that it is … Read more

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Structure Tone Southwest Earns National Excellence in Construction Award

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Structure Tone Southwest’s work on Vitol’s new Houston, Texas headquarters has earned the company a National Excellence in Construction Pyramid Award from Associated Builders and Contractors in the “Commercial” project category. Designed by PDR, Vitol’s sophisticated new 60,000-square-foot Houston, Texas office included challenging custom features from a construction point of view, ranging from raised flooring to house data infrastructure and fluted columns, to a double-height, custom ceiling and a specially commissioned architectural sculpture built onsite during construction. ABC’s Excellence in Construction awards program is the industry’s leading competition, developed to honor innovative and high-quality merit shop construction projects, with an … Read more

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ABC Reports on Safety Best Practices Making Construction Companies 770% Safer

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Associated Builders and Contractors recently released its 2017 Safety Performance Report to further the construction industry’s understanding of how to make jobsites safer through its Safety Performance Evaluation Process. Packed with infographics and practical takeaways, the report documents the dramatic impact of using proactive safety practices to reduce recordable incidents by up to 87 percent, making the best-performing companies 770 percent safer than the industry average. The Safety Performance Report is based on data gathered from ABC member companies recording more than 1 billion hours of work in construction, heavy construction, civil engineering and specialty trades. It … Read more

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