Construction employment continued to suffer significant declines in the majority of metropolitan areas, according to an analysis of federal employment data released Wednesday by AGC. The figures reflect continued weak private, state and local demand as well as a lack of long-term projects caused by stalled federal infrastructure bills.

Read AGC's press release here. AGC's analysis was quoted in Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal and the Orange County Register, among others.

Friday's USA TODAY includes a look at construction spending trends nationwide, and includes data and comments from AGC. The newspaper's study found that the stimulus helped soften what could be the first year of decline in construction spending since 1993.

Read the article here.

For more information, contact Ken Simonson at simonsonk@agc.org.

Construction employment declined in 25 states between April and May and in 45 states between May 2009 and 2010, according to a new analysis of federal data released Friday by AGC. Construction employment will remain weak despite the short-term stimulus while private, state and local demand for construction remains depressed, AGC noted. (more…)

Traffic congestion and the delays it causes are costing the nation's construction firms an estimated $23 billion each year, according to a new analysis released Thursday by AGC.  During a media event in Minneapolis, AGC warned there is no relief in sight as Congress is months late in passing six-year federal transportation legislation, prompting more pain for the hard-hit construction industry.

Caterpillar Global Paving's Jim McReynolds leads Steve Sandherr and AGC of Minnesota's Dave Semerad on a media tour of his factory.

The new analysis was based on responses from nearly 1,200 AGC member construction firms.  A staggering 93 percent of firms reported that traffic and congestion were affecting their operations.  Meanwhile, nearly two-thirds of firms lose at least one day of productivity per worker per year due to traffic congestion, equaling 3.7 million days of lost productivity industry-wide each year.

Read the full press release, as well as survey data, here. The news was covered by the Minneapolis Post and the local Channel 12 News (start at 5:27), as well as the Portland Tribune, New Orleans City Business and NJ Biz. (more…)

Construction employment declined in May as 35,000 workers lost jobs, offsetting most of the increases the industry experienced in March and April, according to a new analysis of federal employment figures by AGC. Meanwhile, the construction unemployment rate was at 20.1 percent, more than twice the national rate.

The figures show how fragile the sector is despite recent increases in stimulus funding activity, association officials noted.  “Growing stimulus activity was clearly offset by weak private sector demand and diminished state and local construction budgets last month,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist.  “Unfortunately, construction employment is likely to remain both relatively low and unstable until at least early 2011.”

Click here to read the release. The news was covered by Engineering News-Record, Daily Reporter and Daily Commercial News & Construction Record, among others.

Construction spending rebounded strongly in April, with an increase of 2.7 percent or $23 billion from March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $869 billion, according to the latest analysis of federal spending figures released Tuesday by AGC.

AGC noted that the gains were primarily driven by private residential construction (up 4.4 percent) and public construction (up 2.4 percent), but that private nonresidential also increased significantly (up 1.7 percent).

Read the press release here. The news was covered in Newsday, the Columbus Dispatch and the Providence Journal, among others.

For more information, contact Brian Turmail at (703) 837-5310 or turmailb@agc.org.