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Manpower finds hiring plans are stable; market appears hot for renewables, data centersEditor’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."Hiring plans remain relatively stable" for April-June 2016, after adjusting for seasonal variation, compared to January-March, "and employers report no change compared to one year ago at this time," ManpowerGroup reported on Tuesday in releasing its latest quarterly survey of 11,000 U.S. employers. Employers in all 13 industry sectors included in the survey have a positive outlook for the second quarter. "When the industry sector data is compared quarter over quarter,...hiring activity is expected to remain relatively stable nationwide" in construction and 10 of the 12 other sectors.
Reshaping the Construction Industry
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ING is accused of fabricating documentation of materials purchases from a minority firm which was part of their bid for a major project, after which federal officials blew the fraud whistle on them.
March 14, 2016
Some 468 area women packed into the North Ballroom of Galveston’s Hotel Galvez on Friday, Feb. 19, eager to learn about careers in the petrochemical and industrial trades industries.The number far exceeded the expectations of conference planners for this first-ever event.“It told us there are many capable women interested in well-paying, challenging careers in what were once male-dominated industries,” said Debi Jordan, spokesperson for the Community College Petrochemical Initiative (CCPI), which sponsored the event, along with several major industrial partners.
March 11, 2016
The second ever Lift & Move USA event which was held last month in Houston connected over 650 high school and college students with industry representatives from the crane, rigging and specialized transport industries, inspiring them to pursue careers in those challenging and rewarding fields.TNT Crane & Rigging hosted the one-day event from their Houston facility where they had several large cranes of varied types on display outside with skilled operators on hand to talk with the attendees about the equipment. Appropriately, the indoor program began with an introduction from Mike Appling, President and CEO of TNT Crane & Rigging. In his opening remarks, he noted that the average annual salary for crane operators in Houston is currently $118K.
March 10, 2016
Construction is a vast and complex industry that allows men and women to use their talents and professions in many ways. ABC/CMEF is offering scholarships to qualifying undergraduate students pursuing a degree for a career in construction at a university or community college.The scholarship committee will be awarding upwards of $20,000 in scholarship money. The deadline to apply for the scholarship is Friday, March 18th. You can view the scholarship requirements and application here. The committee will take into consideration each applicant's interest in construction, grades, extracurricular activities, employment experience, and financial needs.
March 09, 2016
Construction Career Collaborative (C3) was the beneficiary of two big announcements last week by high profile, influential owners, which illustrate C3’s growing presence and impact in the Greater Houston region. The first came through the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston from His Eminence, Daniel Cardinal DiNardo, who declared that its projects would require C3 participation from this point forward. This is a huge win for C3 because the Archdiocese is one of the most active builders in the Houston region with as many as 10 new projects (all C3!) expected to begin in the near future.The second significant announcement came from the Greater Houston Partnership, which issued a press release stating that the construction of its new offices would require C3 participation. Bob Harvey, President and CEO of the Greater Houston Partnership stated, “Programs like C3 exemplify the approaches championed by UpSkill Houston.
March 09, 2016
Construction employment in February, spending in January climb to seven-year highsEditor’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.Nonfarm payroll employment in February increased by 242,000, seasonally adjusted, from January and by 2,672,000 (1.9%) over 12 months, and the unemployment rate stayed at 4.9%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported last week. Construction employment rose by 19,000 for the month (to 6,631,000) and by 253,000 (4.0%) year-over-year (y/y). Industry employment reached the highest level since December 2008. Residential construction employment (residential building and specialty trade contractors) increased by 15,000 for the month and 155,100 (6.4%) y/y.
March 08, 2016
On March 3, 2016, The Port Authority of New York opened the new transportation hub at the World Trade Center to the public and to the 100,000 riders who use the center daily.
March 07, 2016
HOUSTON - The Greater Houston Partnership announced Thursday additional details about the organization’s office space in the new Partnership Tower. The build-out will be completed by Partnership member companies who demonstrate a commitment to developing and maintaining a quality and skilled construction workforce. The Partnership is joining with the Construction Career Collaborative, or C3, that has developed a set of principles for commercial construction companies to follow in their business practices that includes financial security, health and well-being of craft professionals, and appropriate safety and craft training for their workforce.The Partnership, through its UpSkill Houston initiative, focuses on developing a sustainable talent pipeline for seven key industry sectors that drive Houston’s regional economy.
March 04, 2016
The following article originally appeared in the March newsletter to clients of Kiley Advisors, LLC for the purpose of providing the latest leading indicators and industry issues to those clients. Reprinted with permission.The tone is turning decidedly more negative when discussing the outlook for Houston. Local economists are anxiously awaiting this Friday’s revisions to the 2015 employment numbers, to determine whether Houston did indeed gain jobs last year. Either way, the leading indicators are not good. The rig count has continued to decline, now nearly 75% lower than it was in September 2014, both nationwide and in Texas, according to Baker Hughes. And at $30 oil, no one, not even the stripper wells, are making money, according to Jesse Thompson, Economist at the Houston Branch Federal Reserve Bank. The reason, he notes, for the increased production is that drillers are now focusing solely on their most productive areas.
March 03, 2016
