CONSTRUCTION JOBS DROP IN 266 OUT OF 337 METRO AREAS BETWEEN JULY 2009 & 2010 AS "SUMMER OF RECOVERY" MEETS YEAR OF LOW DEMAND

Chicago and Flagstaff, Arizona Lose Most Jobs, While Prince Georges-Calvert-Charles Counties, MD and Eau Claire, Wisconsin Top List of Metro Areas Adding Jobs for the Year

Construction employment declined in 266 out of 337 metropolitan areas between July 2009 and July 2010, according to a new analysis of federal employment data released today by the Associated General Contractors of America.  The employment figures demonstrate the widespread decline in demand for construction services that continues to outpace stimulus-funded work, association officials noted.

(more…)

Construction employment increased in 31 metro areas from July 2009 to July 2010 (not seasonally adjusted), was unchanged in 30, and declined in 276, AGC reported today, based on Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data. (For most areas, BLS combines construction with mining and logging to prevent disclosure of data for industries with few employers.) Slightly more metros showed gains (31 vs. 25) or no change (30 vs. 27) than in the June 2009-June 2010 period. The largest percentage gains were in the Eau Claire, Wisconsin metro (16%, 500 combined jobs) and the Haverhill-North Andover-Amesbury, Massachusetts-New Hampshire division (13%, 500 combined jobs) of the Boston-Cambridge-Quincy New England City and Town Area. The largest number of combined jobs were added in the Calvert-Charles-Prince Georges, Maryland portion (8%, 2,800 jobs) of the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, District of Columbia-Virginia-Md.-West Virginia metro and the Kansas City, Kansas portion (9%, 1,700 combined jobs) of the Kansas City metro area. The Chicago-Joliet-Naperville division lost more construction jobs (32,900 jobs, 23%) than any other metro area, reflecting a construction strike that has since ended. Flagstaff, Arizona lost the highest percentage (32%, 700 combined jobs), followed by Napa, California (31%, 1,000 combined jobs). Other areas experiencing large declines in the number of construction jobs included Las Vegas (14,800 jobs, 24%) and Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown (14,700 jobs, 8%).

(more…)

CONSTRUCTION JOB GAINS BECOME MORE WIDESPREAD, LOSSES LESS SEVERE AS SIX STATES ADD JOBS BETWEEN JULY 2009 & 2010; 26 STATES ADD JOBS IN THE PAST MONTH

Kansas Tops Yearly and Vermont & New York Top Monthly Gainers; California and Nevada Experience Most Job Losses During Past Year While Illinois Experiences Largest Monthly Percent Decline

Construction job gains were more widespread across the country and job losses were generally less severe in July than in June, the Associated General Contractors of America reported in an analysis of state employment data released today by the Labor Department. Twenty-six states added construction jobs in July, compared to 19 in June, while six states added construction jobs over the past year and most others are losing far fewer jobs than previously, association officials noted.

(more…)

Seasonally adjusted construction employment in July increased in 26 states, dropped in 23 states plus D.C., and was unchanged in Alaska, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today. Over the past 12 months, six states added construction jobs (Kansas, 6.9%, 500 jobs; New Hampshire, 5.0%, 1,100 jobs; Oklahoma, 2.8%, 1,900 jobs; West Virginia, 2.4%, 800 jobs; Alaska, 1.9%, 300 jobs; and Arkansas, 1.5%, 800 jobs). Nebraska had no change, while 43 states plus D.C. lost construction jobs, led by Nevada (-22%, -17,300 jobs).

(more…)

AGC has compiled tables of PPIs for construction materials and segments as well as analysis. The data is from the Bureau of Labor Statistics monthly report and covers over 50 construction specific data series.

Have contractors stopped buying high and selling low? Maybe for the moment, but the pattern over the past year is still unfavorable.

(more…)

A new analysis by AGC of Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data on average hourly earnings (payroll divided by employee hours) in construction (www.bls.gov/ces) shows a dramatic slowdown for most subsectors since 2008. Average pay for all employees in the industry increased 4.0% in 2007, 4.8% in 2008, 1.9% in 2009 and only 1.1% in the 12 months ending in June. For production and nonsupervisory employees (roughly equivalent to craft workers), the increases were 4.2% in 2007, 5.4% in 2008, 2.1% in 2009 and 2.3% in the latest 12 months, showing that these workers received slightly larger pay increases on average each period than other employees. Pay increases slowed much more in some subsectors than others. For instance, craft workers at masonry contracting firms had an 11.6% average pay increase in 2008 but a drop of 0.4% in the latest 12 months; at roofing contractors, average increases slowed only from 3.5% in 2008 to 1.4% in the latest 12 months. Pay for all employees in June averaged $23.03, not seasonally adjusted, for the entire industry and ranged from $19.81 for painting and wall covering contractors to $29.63 for new-multifamily general contractors.

The value of nonresidential construction starts in July dropped 9% compared with July 2009, Reed Construction Data reported on Thursday. Year-to-date starts for the first seven months of 2010 combined rose 8% from January-July 2009. Nonresidential building construction declined 14% July-to-July but rose 5% year-to-date, while heavy construction fell 1% and rose 12%, respectively. "Starts were about steady again in July [compared with June] as they have been for most of the year, allowing for the usual seasonal variation," Chief Economist Jim Haughey said. "Heavy starts were the highest in six months with a surge in highway and bridge projects in the first month of the new fiscal year for most states….There were sizable July gains for developer-financed retail, hotel and warehouse (but not office) projects, which signals that this cyclically sensitive sector may be recovering. However, institutional building starts declined in July. Federal stimulus funds cannot offset the collapse of state and local government finances."

(more…)

Nonfarm payroll employment fell by 131,000, seasonally adjusted, in July, "reflecting the departure of 143,000 temporary Census 2010 workers from federal government payrolls," the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported on Friday. Total private-sector employment rose by 71,000. "Thus far this year, private sector employment has increased by 630,000, with about two-thirds of the gain occurring in March and April," BLS stated. The job loss in June was revised to 221,000 from the initial estimate of 125,000. The unemployment rate in July was 9.7%, not seasonally adjusted (9.5%, seasonally adjusted, matching the June rate). Construction employment dropped by 11,000, seasonally adjusted, to 5,573,000, a 14-year low. BLS said, "10,000 construction workers were off payrolls due to strike activity," which has now ended. Construction job losses have moderated: the decrease from July 2009 to July 2010, 6.3% or 376,000 jobs, was only about one-third as large as a year ago. Among the five BLS construction categories, residential building contractors had the most severe losses, -1.7% for the month and -8.9% over 12 months; followed by residential specialty trades, -0.5% and -4.3%; nonresidential building, -0.3% and -5.4%; heavy and civil engineering, -0.1% and -3.6%; and nonresidential specialty trade contractors, +0.4% and -8.4%. The unemployment rate in construction fell to 17.3%, unadjusted, in July 2010, from 18.2% in July 2009, as the number of unemployed construction workers dropped to 1,528,000 from 1,687,000. Given the drop in employment over that span, the decrease in unemployment reflects workers who have left construction for other industries or have stopped looking for work in the past 12 months, not net hiring. Average hourly earnings in construction rose 4 cents in July to $25.19, seasonally adjusted, and 33 cents (1.3%) compared with July 2009. Architectural and engineering services employment, a harbinger of future demand for construction, edged up by 0.1% in July but fell 2.6% over 12 months.

(more…)

CONSTRUCTION EMPLOYMENT DECLINES BY 11,000 BETWEEN JUNE AND JULY WHILE THE INDUSTRY'S UNEMPLOYMENT RATE HIT 17.3 PERCENT

As Stimulus Projects Begin to Wind Down and Private, State and Local Demand Remains Flat, Construction Group Urges Congress and the Administration to Act on Long-Delayed Infrastructure Bills

Construction employment decreased by 11,000 between June and July 2010 while the industry's unemployment rate fell to 17.3 percent, according to a new analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of federal employment data released today.  The third month of construction employment declines, despite the stimulus, reflects overall weak demand for private, local and state funded construction, association officials noted. 

(more…)