Additional
Links
Economic
Stimulus Information:
latest information from the AGC of America and
their efforts to get the construction industry
back to work.
Local Industry
News and Happenings:
information about the construction industry in
Oregon, including event/meeting announcements,
training/educational opportunities, and industry
announcements.
More Construction
Firms Likely to Perform Stimulus-Funded Work in
2010 as Funding Expands Beyond Transportation
Programs
February 16, 2010
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.”
Read Ken Simonson’s analysis of the impacts
of the stimulus.
View photographs of employees who owe their
jobs to the stimulus.
Nearly 90 Percent
of Contractors Say Industry Will Not Recover in
2010 as Construction outlook Finds Stimulus Lone
Bright Spot
Construction
Firms Predict Drop in Private-Sector Work, Fewer
Equipment Purchases Amid Widespread Uncertainty
About 2010 Hiring & Lay Off Plans
January 20, 2010
Nearly nine-in-ten
contractors say there will be no recovery in
2010 as part of a new national construction
hiring and business outlook forecast released
today by the Associated General Contractors of
America. As a result, fewer contractors plan to
purchase construction equipment and after a year
of near-record industry layoffs, many doubt
they’ll be able to hire new staff this year.
“Unfortunately for
the industry and for our economy this year’s
construction outlook is far from positive,” said
Stephen E. Sandherr, the association’s chief
executive officer. “As long as the construction
industry remains mired in its own depression,
broader economic and employment growth will
continue to lag.”
The outlook, which
is based in part on survey responses from nearly
700 construction firms submitted in late
December and earlier this month, shows that
privately-funded construction activity is likely
to decline even further this year. Indeed, 64
percent of responding contractors expect demand
for new manufacturing facilities will decline,
while 71 percent expect demand for new retail,
warehouse and lodging facilities will drop.
As a result, the
number of firms expecting to buy new equipment
is down to 46 percent this year from 61 percent
in 2009. Meanwhile, 81 percent of firms report
already having to cut profit margins in their
bids just to stay competitive and another ten
percent say they are now submitting bids so low
they will actually lose money on the projects.
Sandherr added that
many construction firms are uncertain that
they’ll be able to add staff following a year of
record layoffs. In 2009, 73 percent of firms
said they laid off employees, averaging 39
layoffs per firm. For 2010, however, 60 percent
of firms say they are unsure whether they will
be able to add new staff, or be forced to make
further cuts. “Perhaps they can’t imagine who
else to let go,” Sandherr noted.
One of the
relatively few bright spots for the industry was
the federal stimulus. Thirty-one percent of
contractors say they were awarded stimulus
funded projects. Of these, 46 percent say the
stimulus helped them retain an average of 24
employees each. Another 15 percent say the
stimulus helped them to add an average of 10 new
employees per company while 12 percent cite the
stimulus as driving new equipment purchases.
Sandherr added that
the stimulus is driving up expectations for
publicly-funded construction activity in 2010.
He noted that 62 percent of contractors expect
the highway market to improve or remain stable,
61 percent say water and sewer construction will
improve or remain stable. And 55 percent say
work on public buildings will improve or remain
stable in 2010.
“The stimulus is
finally beginning to have a measurable, but
limited, impact on the construction industry,”
Sandherr noted. “The full impact of those
investments has sadly been tempered by the
inability of Congress to put a host of
multi-year infrastructure funding plans in
place.”
In addition to
stimulus-funded projects, contractors also are
relatively upbeat about prospects for power and
hospital/higher education construction.
Fifty-two percent expect demand for power
facilities to be at or above last year’s levels
while 57 percent of contractors expect growth or
stability in demand for hospital and higher
education construction.
Overall, however,
the outlook points to another difficult year for
contractors Sandherr said. The only truly good
news, he added, is that construction costs
remain at multi-year lows, providing good deals
for anyone willing to begin a construction
project.
Citing examples like
a DC-area county that is increasing its capital
budget in light of the “limited time sale,”
Sandherr said the association was contacting
Congressional and Administration leaders to urge
them to invest in new construction activity. “If
they act now, they can save taxpayers millions
on construction costs while immediately boosting
employment and economic activity,” Sandherr
said.
Membership Directory Fraud Alert
November 9, 2009
After reports
earlier this year regarding a fraudulent
Membership Directory Listing Application, they
are at it again. AGCA believes that the fax is a
SCAM. Scam solicitations, like the ones attached
have once again begun to circulate.
Neither AGC of
America nor their directory provider sent this
fax. They have already sent two cease and
desists letter and are in discussions with
outside lawyers regarding additional actions.
This is NOT an AGC
directory and members should be careful in
responding to the fax and providing money to
this inquiry.
Questions can be
directed to:
Elisa Brewer Pratt, Senior Director, Chapter
Support Services
The Associated General Contractors of
America
2300 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 400
Arlington, VA 22201
Direct Phone - (703) 837-5343
email:
brewere@agc.org
www.agc.org
AGCA Launches New
Recovery Plan Website
October 26, 2009
New Site
Includes Interactive Features, Update on Plan's
Progress
AGC of America today
launched a new website for its construction
industry recovery plan, “Build Now for the
Future: A Blueprint for Economic Recovery.” The
new site, http://blueprint.agc.org, includes new
interactive features, like real-time updates on
each of the 30 measures outlined in the plan,
and easy-to-use features to allow members and
industry friends to send letters of support to
congress, download sample op-eds and post links
to the plan on Facebook and Twitter.
Federal Contractor E-Verify Rule Now in Effect
September 8, 2009
A rule requiring
federal contractors and subcontractors to use
the Department of Homeland Security U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services’ E-Verify
system to verify their employees' authorization
to work in the U.S. is now in effect. The rule
applies to federal solicitations and contract
awards government-wide beginning today,
September 8.
The rule applies
only to employers with direct contracts with the
federal government and, via a flow-down
requirement, to their subcontractors. It does
not apply to employers working only on federally
funded projects or on other projects not under
contract with a federal agency.
The rule requires
the insertion of a new clause in certain federal
contracts and subcontracts. Prime contracts
below the simplified acquisition threshold of
$100,000 and those with performance terms of
less than 120 days are excluded. The clause
requires the contractor to use E-Verify to
confirm employment eligibility of all new
employees hired during the contract term and all
current employees assigned to work on a federal
job within the U.S. It also allows, but does not
require, the federal contractor to use E-Verify
to confirm eligibility of all employees,
regardless of whether they are assigned to work
on a federal job. Currently, use of E-Verify to
confirm anyone other than a new hire (including
applicants and current employees) is prohibited.
The FAR Council
issued the final rule in November 2008. In
response to a legal challenge to the rule and in
order to give the new administration time to
fully review the matter, the government agreed
to suspend the rule on three separate occasions,
but, in a
July 8 statement, DHS Secretary Janet
Napolitano announced that DHS will "push ahead
with full implementation" of the rule without
further delay.
Although the
litigation continues, we are advising
contractors to carefully review all new
solicitations and contracts for federal projects
and comply with any E-Verify requirements at
this time. AGC will continue to monitor all
related litigation and legislation and will
report on significant developments.
Click here for the E-Verify Supplemental
Guidance for Federal Contractors issued by USCIS
on September 8.
Click here for DHS's list of Frequently
Asked Questions (FAQ's) for Federal Contractors
and E-Verify.
Click here for more information about
critical components of the rule.
Click here for information about free
webinars on the E-Verify program.
Further guidance on
immigration compliance is available in an
MP3 download of a live educational session
held at AGC's Annual HR Professionals Conference
in June 2008. An immigration law update will
also be provided at AGC's next HR Professionals
Conference, which will take place October 27-29,
in Atlanta, Ga. Click here for conference
details and registration.
For more
information, contact Denise Gold at (703)
837-5326 or goldd@agc.org, or Marco Giamberardino at
(703) 837-5325 or
giamberm@agc.org.
