Construction News

Economic Activity Advances in Thirty States in September
11/18/11 – The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia regional economic activity indexes advanced in 30 states in September from August. On a three-month moving average basis, 33 states showed improvement. Thirteen states declined in September, with the only notable concentration being in the South Atlantic division where activity for five of the eight states declined (Delaware, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia). Also included in this division is Maryland whose index was unchanged from August. This was the only division posting a decline, falling 0.9%. The West North Central division had the greatest monthly advance among the nine divisions with a 3.5% increase at an annual rate and was one of only two divisions (along with the West South Central) in which no state posted a decline in activity (South Dakota was flat).

British Army engineers give Afghan soldiers heavy equipment training

British Army engineers give Afghan soldiers heavy equipment training.

Crane Operator Dies in Rollover

Bury, Great Britain: A crane operator was killed today after his eight axle mobile crane ran away on a steep incline at the Scout Moor wind farm.

Texas Job Boom? Maybe!

CNN Money ran an article on the jobs in Texas, here are some exceprts:

• Texas has created a lot of jobs over the 10 years that Rick Perry’s been governor — there’s no doubt about it.
• Perry, who is formally launching his presidential candidacy on Saturday, is making his state’s economic prowess a centerpiece of his campaign. Already he’s been bragging about his state being the "epicenter of job growth."
• Texas has gained more than 1 million net new jobs in the decade Perry has led the state. And it’s been going strong since the recession ended.
• "We are home to fewer than one in 10 Americans … but four in 10 new American jobs are in our state," he told a conference of state legislators from around the nation this week.
• But that doesn’t mean that all is well with employment in the Lone Star State. Texas leads the nation in minimum-wage jobs, and many positions don’t offer health benefits. Also, steep budget cuts are expected to result in the loss of more than 100,000 jobs.
• Perhaps most importantly, Texas can’t create jobs fast enough to keep up with its rapidly growing population. Since 2007, the state’s number of working-age residents expanded by 6.6%, nearly twice the national average.
• Factoring in that population growth means Texas would need to create another 629,000 jobs, or 5.6% more positions, just to reach its pre-recession employment level, according to the Economic Policy Institute.

Family Reaches Settlement After Crane Destroys Home

1.5 years after a crane destroyed their house while trying to remove a tree, the family settled with the tree company. Read more at http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20110524/ARTICLES/110529755?tc=ix&tc=ar

22 States Add Construction Related Jobs including DC

An economist for AGC states that 23 states added jobs during the month. Association personnel cautioned that construction job opportunites likely to remain spotty as long as broader economic growth remains relatively modest. They noted that increased regulations, stalled infrastructure investment programs and out of control entitlements were hurting growth. They encouraged the feds to enact reforms outlined in the AGC’s "Case for Infrastructure & Reform."
"Increasing red tape, cutting infrastructure investments and avoiding the causes of our federal deficit aren’t helping the economy or boosting construction employment," said Stephen Sandherr, AGC’s ceo.

Crane Accident Leaves One Dead in YAVAPAI COUNTY, AZ

A man died after he lost control of a crane he was driving,as it rolled down a hillside and flipped over.

It took over six hours to right the crane and access the body.

Officials say the accident is being investigated by jointly by the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office, Federal Occupational Safety and Health Organization (OSHA), and the Arizona State Mine Inspectors Office as part of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA).

Housing Permits Update From Reed Construction Data

Reed Const Data says, "Housing market activity should be seen as flat for about two years — still waiting to break out of the bottom of the housing recession," "That is expected to happen this spring." The key driver is employment gains which have began to boost apartment permits. Home builders have cut back so their inventory of houses they are selling will be back to normal with only a small lift in sales.

Unemployment Needs a Super Hero

WOW! The U.S. job market is broken, and some government employees think it is a joke.

How can we lift the spirits of the unemployed?

According to Gary J. Earl, give them a super hero capes. Via the Associated Press,

Florida officials are investigating an unemployment agency that spent public money to give 6,000 superhero capes to the jobless.

Workforce Central Florida spent more than $14,000 on the red capes as part of its "Cape-A-Bility Challenge" public relations campaign. The campaign featured a cartoon character, "Dr. Evil Unemployment," who needs to be vanquished…

Is Mr. Earl (the director of Workforce Central Florida) brain dead?

Wow! Unbelievable

Construction Accident Causes Major Delays in Germany

The major rail links between Hannover and Berlin and Nuremberg and Bamberg were closed down on Thursday,

delaying thousands of travellers across the country amid fears the problems could affect Easter traffic.