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PPI jumps in February; contractors are optimistic on hiring and activity, two surveys sayEditor’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.Click here to view February PPI table.The producer price index (PPI) for finished goods rose 0.8%, not seasonally adjusted (0.7%, seasonally adjusted), in February and 1.7% over 12 months, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Thursday. The PPI for inputs to construction—a weighted average of the cost of all materials used in construction plus items consumed by contractors such as diesel fuel—increased 1.3% for the month and 2.0% year-over-year, outpacing the PPIs for most new nonresidential building construction and subcontractors’ work. The PPI for new offices was flat in February and rose just 1.0% over 12 months; new industrial buildings, 0% and 1.3%, respectively; schools, 0.3% and 1.2%; and warehouses, -0.3% and 2.6%. The new PPI for health care buildings, which dates only to June 2012, was unchanged in February. The PPI for new, repair and maintenance work on nonresidential buildings by electrical contractors fell 0.3 % in February and 0.4% over 12 months; the index for plumbing contractors fell 0.1% for the month but increased 1.6% from a year ago; the index for roofing contractors rose 0.1% and 2.2%, respectively; and concrete contractors, 0.5% and 1.2%
Reshaping the Construction Industry
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Earlier this year, I sat down with Gregg Reyes, President and CEO of Reytec Construction Resources, Inc., to learn about his company and how it grew from a two-person contracting company operating out of a private home to the go-to company for specialty concrete work which it has become today. Reytec is a provider of many types of concrete excavation and structural services, specializing in underground utility work, above ground paving and structures, and site preparation for both public and private projects.Reytec was started in 1997. At that time, Reytec was a general contracting company consisting of only Reyes and his wife, operating out of their home, and hiring subcontractors to help complete projects. While working on a restaurant project, Reyes met an older man who was running a concrete crew for one of the subcontractors Reyes had hired, and the two of them truly hit it off.
March 14, 2013
During September of 2010, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger killed two bills aimed at penalizing employers who commit wage theft in California. However, he failed to win reelection, and after Governor Jerry Brown took over the post the following January, Brown went on to sign Assembly Bill 469, known as the Wage Theft Protection Act of 2011.California’s Wage Theft Protection Act (WTPA) has been in effect since January 2012. It added Section 2810.5 to the labor code which requires employers to provide new employees with specific information in writing at the time they are hired, including the legal name and address of the company who is hiring the new employee, the name and address of the company for whom the employee will perform work, the employee’s rate of pay, and the basis of wage payment
March 14, 2013
There's still plenty of work to do, but supporters of a crackdown on payroll fraud in Texas got a big boost yesterday when the Texas Association of Business (TAB) said it would not oppose the effort. Cathy DeWitt with TAB said in a House hearing that the powerful business group agrees with the concept, but they have some problems with the bill filed by Representative Joe Deshotel, D-Beaumont.Among other things, DeWitt said the amount of fines for payroll fraud shouldn't be written into a new law, but instead the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) should use its rulemaking process and take complaints on a case-by-case basis. I spoke with Representative Deshotel after the hearing and he said he has a lot of work to do when it comes to coordinating with the TWC on this issue. "I will keep visiting with them. We have to deal with what we have. I've been working with TAB and you know the other people who testified, and I think it's an enforcement issue
March 13, 2013
Youth are vital to the construction industry. Today’s high school students represent the pool of workers from which the construction industry will recruit its future work force. Northside Independent School District (NISD) understands this and is hosting its first annual Construction Career Day next week on March 20.The event will be held at Warren High School’s Construction Careers Academy in San Antonio, Texas. Teachers from NISD high schools have selected 350 students who have shown interest in pursuing careers in construction. The students will be introduced to many of the rewarding and diverse careers in the industry, and will have the opportunity to speak with potential employers about what working in the industry is like and how it could impact their career paths and futures. Students will visit booths representing various professions in construction, watch trade demonstrations, and see how different types of equipment are used.
March 12, 2013
Employment shows biggest gain in six years; Beige Book reports widespread pickupEditor’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 increased by 236,000, seasonally adjusted, in February and 1,966,000 (1.5%) over 12 months, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday. The unemployment rate was 8.1%, not seasonally adjusted (7.7%, seasonally adjusted), down from 8.7% a year earlier. Construction employment rose for the ninth straight month and totaled 5,784,000, seasonally adjusted, the most since September 2009. The increase of 48,000 from January was the largest one-month gain since March 2007. Construction employment rose 140,000 (2.5%) from February 2012, while total hours worked in construction increased by 3.3%, implying that contractors are lengthening working hours and also hiring new workers. The unemployment rate for former construction workers dropped from 17.1%, not seasonally adjusted, in February 2012 to 15.7%. Residential construction employment (residential building and specialty trade contractors) rose by 19,400, seasonally adjusted, for the month and 64,200 (3.1%) for the year. Nonresidential employment (building, specialty trades, and heavy and civil engineering construction) climbed 29,000 in February and 75,700 (2.1%) over 12 months.
March 11, 2013
An industry insider who has been closely following our coverage of the payroll fraud issue raised a fascinating point recently. This executive I was chatting with put forward a theory: If construction volume is picking up, you'd think employment would go up as well. But, if so much of the workforce is misclassfied, then those workers would be in "payables," not "payroll." Or put more simply: One big reason the construction employment rate does not keep up with the volume of construction is precisely because of employee misclassification. Hmm...I picked up the phone and called Ken Simonson, the Chief Economist at AGC America and new Construction Citizen blogger. Here's what he told me:
March 07, 2013
Construction careers have received their fair share of bad press over the years. As a result, it is not uncommon for today’s student to come away from the classroom or the counselor’s office thinking that the only way to earn a good living is by getting a bachelor’s degree. Parents want their children to have it better than they do, and conventional wisdom is that a college degree is the one and only path to a successful and financially stable career.However, even in today’s highly competitive job market, the reality may surprise you. The Harvard Graduate School of Education’s landmark report, Pathways to Prosperity, found that “27% of people with post-secondary licenses or certificates – credentials short of an associate’s degree – earn more than the average bachelor’s degree recipient.”
March 07, 2013
Efforts to pass a worker misclassification bill are moving forward after what was called "the big stakeholders meeting" on Monday. Sen. John Carona, Chairman of the Senate...
March 06, 2013
On Wednesday, February 27, over 500 construction workers and their supporters marched to the Texas Capitol to rally for better working conditions in the industry. Holding banners with facts like “Texas is the Deadliest State to Work in Construction” and “More Workers Die in Texas Than Any Other State”, these activists called for an end to the dangerous conditions and frequent legal violations that characterize Texas’s construction industry. During the day, workers and their advocates visited with every senator and representative, as well as the Governor’s and Lt. Governor’s offices, to share their experiences with workplace injuries, wage theft, and payroll fraud.A recent study by the University of Texas found that one out of every five workers in Texas has been injured on the job and required medical attention. The study also found that construction workers in Texas die on the job at a higher rate than in any other state
March 05, 2013
