The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Council has issued a final rule implementing Executive Order 13502 on the use of project labor agreements  (PLAs) on federal construction projects, giving contracting agencies broad discretion to determine whether to impose a PLA mandate on a project, when the PLA should be executed, and what terms the PLA will contain.

The rule implements the executive order's stated policy to "encourage" executive agencies to "consider" requiring the use of project labor agreements in connection with large-scale construction projects, which are defined as projects with a total cost to the federal government of $25 million or more.  Mimicking the Executive Order, the rule provides that an agency "may" require that every construction contractor and subcontractor on a particular project agree to negotiate or become a party to a PLA if the agency decides that use of a PLA will (1) advance the government's interest in achieving economy and efficiency in federal procurement, producing labor-management stability, and ensuring compliance with laws and regulations governing safety and health, equal employment opportunity, labor and employment standards, and other matters; and (2) be consistent with the law.  The rule adds several other factors that agencies may consider in their project-by-project evaluation of whether a PLA is appropriate, but it neither requires the agencies to consider those factors nor limits their consideration to those factors.  (more…)

Just 10 out of 337 metropolitan areas added construction jobs between February 2009 and 2010, AGC reported, citing data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Even worse, 230 metro areas experienced double digit declines in construction employment while only two cities experienced a double digit increase. Read the press release here.

The news was covered by the Sacramento Bee, Houston Chronicle and Austin Business Journal, among others.

Payroll employment in the construction industry in March rose by 15,000, seasonally adjusted, the first gain since June 2007, according to federal employment figures released Friday. AGC chief economist Ken Simonson hailed the increase but cautioned it may not be sustained, noting that the industry's unemployment rate dropped slightly but remained more than double the all-industry level.

Read the press release here.  The news was covered by the Denver Post and the California Real Estate Journal, among others.

Construction spending tumbled in February by $11.6 billion, or 1.3 percent, to $846 billion, a low last recorded in 2002, according to AGC's analysis of new federal figures. Declines occurred relative to both the month before and February 2009 in most categories of private residential and nonresidential construction, as well as public construction, AGC's chief economist Ken Simonson noted.

Read the press release here.