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Construction Jobs Turn Around in Southwest

A recent study showed employment rates increasing slightly throughout the nation, but there may be more hope for the industry in Texas than other states.

The Associated General Contractors of America surveyed 337 metropolitan areas from September 2010 to September 2011. The number of construction jobs remained constant in about half of those places, according to the data, while the other half gained jobs instead.

The federal government is months late in passing a number of infrastructure bills – bills that set funding levels for investing in new water systems, in airport construction – and that’s really making it difficult for state and local officials to finance and then to plan the kind of construction projects that relieve traffic in Austin or elsewhere.

Texas’ construction industry had a three percent increase in jobs statewide. The Houston/Sugar Land/Baytown area added a combined 4,500 construction jobs in the past year – more than any other metro area in the country.Austin also gained, adding 2,000 jobs.

“The industry took a downturn for a couple of years in general, along with a downturn in the economy, but we’ve recently – this year specifically – seen a slow improvement that we hope continues into next year,” said Brian Rust of the contracting company Rust & Sons Construction, which has offices in Dallas and Austin.

The Texas Department of Transportation expects to complete a $26 million construction project this month. Four ramps will connect east and westbound Ben White Freeway to southbound Interstate 35.

Home loans and building permits optimistic

The percentage of borrowers falling behind on home loans dropped in the second and third quarter, and building permits for single-family homes has risen in September and October to their highest level in the previous 12 months.

The Mortgage Bankers Association said Tuesday that the percentage of mortgage borrowers who have missed one payment, fell to 8% in the third quarter from 8.4% in the second quarter.

The percentage of borrowers more than 30 days delinquent but less than 60 days late fell the most, to a four-year low of 3.2% from 3.5% in the second quarter.

That drop suggests that fewer borrowers are falling behind for the first time, which will reduce foreclosures years from now.

Still, 4.2 million borrowers are more than 90 days delinquent. Most of those borrowers will lose their homes to foreclosure or other distressed sales.

That will continue to put pressure on home prices, said Paul Dales, economist at Capital Economics. He expects U.S. home prices, down about 4% from last year, to stay flat next year.

Single-family starts were up 3.9% from September.

Permits, which are better indicator of future activity, rose 5.1% for single-family homes and 24% for multi-family units, the Commerce Department said.

The October results point to a single-family market that’s "finally getting off the mat" and a multi-family segment that’s making "small strides," said Patrick Newport, economist at IHS Global Insight. Still, single-family home starts and permits are likely to set record lows this year, Newport says.

Construction Companies Like Obama Plan

President Obama’s proposal to create construction jobs to help put people back to work has local construction companies liking the sound of the $447 billion plan.

400,000 Construction Jobs Created by President Obama

Estimates by state highway officials conclude that for every $1 billion spent on infrastructure projects, 35000 to 40000 construction jobs are created.

Worker Crushed to Death in Crane Accident

Rochester, NY — According to officials, a crane tipped over as the worker was moving the crane from one side of the sloped concrete spillway to another, causing the man to become trapped under the heavy machinery. A construction accident in the Genesee River Gorge has left a man who was pinned under a fallen crane dead. The fatal construction accident occurred Tuesday afternoon, September 6, 2011, at 2:45 p.m., at a project for Rochester Gas and Electric, reported WXXI.

Crane Called in to Lift Wind Turbine

Dubuque, IA,

Oops! the image is hard to view ….

A truck transporting a huge windmill blade tried making a left turn…and the rear portion of said blade (tip) hangs out over the end of the wheels…and another semi behind him, apparently in a big rush, attempted to turn right BEFORE the blade cleared the intersection, and the 2nd semi’s trailer got lodged underneath…ripping the top of the trailer, and getting them all STUCK…call in crane, to lift blade off top of 2nd semi. Ya think he’s gonna have a job after today?

Has Perry Created Jobs in Texas?

According to CNN Money — 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.

Settlement Reached for Family with House Crushed by Crane

Wow, this crane crushed this house, now a settlement has been reached.

Read more details at,
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20110524/ARTICLES/110529755?tc=ix

DC and 22 other States add Construction Jobs

Construction employment growth was uneven in May as nearly half – 22 states plus DC – increased jobs over the past year while other states did not increase construction jobs, this was from an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of state employment data released by DOL.
AGC stated the figures indicate that industry-wide employment has leveled as the result of weak demand of private construction and reduction in public construction.

California Program Helps Construction Companies Buy Clean Heavy Equipment

California has launched a loan guarantee program that helps construction companies and other heavy-equipment users to replace old heavy equipment with cleaner models.

California Air Resources Board and the California Capital Access Program have joined up and formed CalCAP, which uses federal economic stimulus funds. In addition to construction, it focuses on the agricultural, mining and industrial sectors.

Read more: Program helps companies buy cleaner diesel vehicles, heavy equipment | Sacramento Business Journal