Reshaping the Construction Industry

One of the things President-elect Donald Trump did not stress during his successful campaign for the White House is the need for those who are out of work to be trained for new careers. In fact, it is difficult to find any example of Trump discussing skills training at all. Any mention of workforce development and craft training was absent from Trump's major speeches on jobs and the economy. That is perhaps because his entire economic message – a message that resonated in states that made the difference for him in the Rust Belt – was centered on the idea that if you do not have a job it is because someone else took it from you. Trump’s political argument went something like this: If you don’t have a job, it’s because an unfair trade deal sent your gig to another country or an undocumented immigrant stole the job that you would hold here in this nation if an “illegal” wasn’t doing it instead of you.   

34 states add jobs; PPIs for new buildings and construction inputs each rise 0.8%Editor’s note:  Construction Citizen is proud to partner with AGC America to bring you AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson's Data DIGest. Check back each week to get Ken's expert analysis of what's happening in our industry.Seasonally adjusted construction employment rose in 34 states from November 2015 to November 2016, declined in 14 states, and held steady in Montana, Nebraska and the District of Columbia, an AGC analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data released today showed. Nevada led in percentage gain (12%, 8,400 jobs), followed by Iowa (10%, 8,300), Washington (9.4%, 16,500), Oregon (8.4%, 7,000) and Colorado (8.3%, 12,800). The most jobs added were again in California (35,100 jobs, 4.7%), Florida (23,200, 5.3%), Washington and Colorado. Kansas again had the steepest percentage loss (-5.9%, -3,600), followed by Wyoming (-5.7%, -1,300), Alabama (-4.4%, -3,600), Connecticut (-3.8%, -2,200), Maine (-3.7%, -2,200) and Kentucky (-2.9%, -2,200). New York lost the most jobs (-6,400, -1.7%), followed by Alabama and Kansas, then Kentucky and Connecticut. For the month, employment rose in 29 states and D.C., and shrank in 21 states. (AGC's rankings are based on seasonally adjusted data, which in D.C. and six states is available only for construction, mining and logging combined.)The producer price index (PPI) for final demand in November, not seasonally adjusted, increased 0.1% from October and 1.3% year-over-year (y/y) from November 2015, the BLS reported on Wednesday. AGC posted tables and an explanation focusing on construction prices and costs.   

The following article is a guest piece by Jose Garza, Executive Director of Workers Defense Project:Today, the middle class is out of reach for too many men and women working in the Texas construction industry.That hasn’t always been the case.After serving in the Pacific during World War II, my grandfather, Saul, returned to Texas in 1945 hopeful and optimistic about the future. He got his start working for a general contractor in San Antonio where he picked up the skills that would  lay the foundation for the life that he and his family hoped to build.Eventually, through his hard work and good fortune, he was hired by the Texas Highway Department. There, he earned good wages and had access to benefits that allowed him to raise eight children and put several of them through college.   

As construction companies continue to look for ways to grow a sustainable workforce whose craft professionals are well trained in skilled craft trades as well as in essential safety procedures, TEXO has developed an initiative to help commercial construction companies achieve the latter.  TEXO is a large trade association of builders in the Dallas/Fort Worth region of Texas, and Safety First is a safety training course which companies can send employees to for an interactive orientation in how to keep themselves and others safe on jobsites.  Classes are offered in either English or Spanish, and participants must be pre-registered as the classes usually fill up in advance and are limited to approximately 40 students each.Todd Holtz, Vice President of Safety at TEXO, had this to say about the program:“TEXO’s Safety First program is a hands-on, interactive safety orientation for commercial construction employees.  In place since 2013 and endorsed by industry leaders in the field of construction safety, participants have the opportunity to handle and wear the PPE they are expected to use on a jobsite, in addition to learning about the safe use of tools in their trade.