According to the report issued by the Bureau of Labor Statistics last week, the unemployment rate for construction workers jumped to 10.8 percent last month.
“Today’s unemployment report—grim reading on all counts—is especially bad for construction and shows the urgency of enacting infrastructure spending as part of a stimulus bill,” says Ken Simonson, chief economist for the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), commenting on the report. “Construction had—by far—the highest unemployment rate of any industry and the largest increase, up from 6.1 percent a year ago.”
According to Simonson, the industry accounts for nearly half of the million-plus jobs lost throughout the economy in the past 12 months.
“Many of those losses have been in heavy and civil engineering construction—highways and other public works,” Simonson observes. “Those workers could quickly be re-employed if the states had enough money to award contracts for projects they have ready to go. Contrary to some assertions, this money would quickly make its way into the economy, supporting equipment and materials manufacturing and service jobs, as well as construction.”
According to Simonson, state officials say they have thousands of projects ready to award without long delays.
“AGC urges Congress to act this month on a stimulus package that includes funding for highway, bridge and other infrastructure work,” Simonson says. “In addition, the new administration and Congress should give high priority to renewing long-term highway, airport, water and wastewater funding bills next year.
“This is a great time for both public agencies and private owners to go ahead with construction,” Simonson concludes. “Many materials costs have tumbled since last summer, and there are plenty of skilled contractors ready to bid for work.”