Analysis of Stimulus Data Shows Program Delivering More Construction Jobs than Initially Estimated, Helping Boost Transportation Spending, Contractors Group Notes
Stimulus funded infrastructure projects are saving and creating more direct construction jobs than initially estimated, according to a new analysis of federal data released today by the Associated General Contractors of America. The analysis also found that more contractors are likely to perform stimulus funded work this year as work starts on many of the non-transportation projects funded in the initial package.
"The stimulus is one of the very few bright spots the construction industry experienced last year and is one of the few hopes keeping it going in 2010," said Ken Simonson, the association's chief economist. "The stimulus is saving construction jobs, driving demand for new equipment and delivering better and more efficient infrastructure for our economy."
Simonson noted that new federal reports show the $20.6 billion dollars worth of stimulus highway projects initiated over the past twelve months have saved or created nearly 280,000 direct construction jobs. That amounts to 15,000 jobs per billion dollars invested, well above pre-stimulus estimates that every billion invested in infrastructure projects would create 9,700 direct construction jobs.
The economist added that heavy and civil engineering construction employment was stable last month even as total construction employment declined by 75,000. Meanwhile, highway and road construction was one of the only areas to see an increase in spending last year even as total construction spending fell by $100 billion. The two figures are a clear sign the stimulus is having a significant, and stabilizing, impact on the industry, Simonson noted.
Simonson cited examples like Pittsburgh's Golden Triangle Construction Co as an indication of the benefits of investing in infrastructure. The company is hiring two new engineers and over 100 employees this spring just to perform $24 million worth of stimulus-funded projects this year.
It also is ordering new construction equipment to perform the work from Ripon, California-based Guntert and Zimmerman. As a result, the equipment maker saved 40 jobs on its assembly line. And thanks to its stimulus work, Golden Triangle decided to complete construction of its delayed headquarters, providing even more local construction jobs.
Simonson cautioned however that overall declines in construction activity have, and likely will continue to overshadow the benefits of the stimulus. "The stimulus will keep a bad situation from deteriorating further," Simonson said. "That may not make for great headlines, but it is welcome news for construction workers anxious to continue receiving paychecks."
Related Stories
| Aug 11, 2010
Great Solutions: Healthcare
11. Operating Room-Integrated MRI will Help Neurosurgeons Get it Right the First Time A major limitation of traditional brain cancer surgery is the lack of scanning capability in the operating room. Neurosurgeons do their best to visually identify and remove the cancerous tissue, but only an MRI scan will confirm if the operation was a complete success or not.
| Aug 11, 2010
Great Solutions: Collaboration
9. HOK Takes Videoconferencing to A New Level with its Advanced Collaboration Rooms To help foster collaboration among its 2,212 employees while cutting travel time, expenses, and carbon emissions traveling between its 24 office locations, HOK is fitting out its major offices with prototype videoconferencing rooms that are like no other in the U.
| Aug 11, 2010
2009 Judging Panel
A Matthew H. Johnson, PE Associate Principal Simpson Gumpertz & HegerWaltham, Mass. B K. Nam Shiu, SE, PEVP Walker Restoration Consultants Elgin, Ill. C David P. Callan, PE, CEM, LEED APSVPEnvironmental Systems DesignChicago D Ken Osmun, PA, DBIA, LEED AP Group President, ConstructionWight & Company Darien, Ill.
| Aug 11, 2010
Inspiring Offices: Office Design That Drives Creativity
Office design has always been linked to productivity—how many workers can be reasonably squeezed into a given space—but why isn’t it more frequently linked to creativity? “In general, I don’t think enough people link the design of space to business outcome,” says Janice Linster, partner with the Minneapolis design firm Studio Hive.
| Aug 11, 2010
BIMÂ school, green school: California's newest high-performance school
Nestled deep in the Napa Valley, the city of American Canyon is one of a number of new communities in Northern California that have experienced tremendous growth in the last five years. Located 42 miles northeast of San Francisco, American Canyon had a population of just over 9,000 in 2000; by 2008, that figure stood at 15,276, with 28% of the population under age 18.
