Author: agcnews

AGC Charities and the local Construction Leadership Council will be hosting a volunteer day event at a local Boys & Girls Club of Southern Nevada facility which serves the youth that walk through the doors each day – more than 85 young people. The local facility, Donald W. Reynolds Club, features a games room, learning zone, computer lab, art room, gym with three full basketball courts, teen center, Notes for Notes Studio and outdoor area with a garden. Our volunteer efforts will be mainly focused on painting the facility’s gym, which is roughly about 100 by 200 feet and the…

Traumatic Brain Injuries are responsible for 25 percent of all construction fatalities, and many life-altering injuries. With this information and emerging technology, many contractors are considering the transition from the traditional brim hardhat to a chin-strap safety helmet. Joining on this episode to talk about their respective companies journey in this transition, include Seth Randall of Clark Construction, and Jamie Dabbs of TD Industries. Subscribe to AGC’s ConstructorCast on your podcast app, or stream all available episodes online at agc.org/ConstructorCast

Construction firms added 25,000 employees in January and raised wages for hourly workers more steeply than other sectors, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of new government data. Association officials said the industry was benefitting from relatively strong demand for construction projects as firms struggle to fill available positions in the sector. “Construction employment and pay gains outpaced the economy as a whole in the past year, showing that demand for projects remains strong,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “In fact, most contractors would like to hire even more workers and are raising pay in…

On Jan. 31, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) made a controversial decision to block or “veto” a Clean Water Act section 404 permit for the Pebble Mine in Alaska. Last year, AGC raised concerns that EPA’s preemptive veto of the permit would set a harmful precedent for future projects working through the permitting and/or appeals process and have a chilling effect on infrastructure development. The permit in question was undergoing an administrative appeal (still pending) following the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ denial. In the 2022 letter to EPA Administrator Michael Regan, AGC joined other industry groups in urging EPA to…

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has reconsidered the 2020 determination that retained the national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for particulate matter (PM) and has proposed to tighten the primary annual PM2.5 standard outside of the normal five-year framework for these changes. AGC closely monitors and weighs in on these rulemakings as they may include stricter requirements and/or restrictions on diesel engines and their use. If an area of the country does not meet the standards, then the federal government can introduce sanctions such as caps on development and the loss of federal funding for highway projects. States are required to…

Total construction spending decreased by 0.4 percent in December, yet industry job openings at the end of the month set a new high for December, according to an assessment the Associated General Contractors of America conducted today of two new federal data sets. Association officials said the jobs data signals that the slowdown in construction spending may have been more about changes in weather than demand. “The record number of job openings in construction compared to previous Decembers suggests contractors are bullish about their backlogs despite a dip in spending in December,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “Some…

Construction employment increased in 268 of 358 metro areas between December 2021 and December 2022, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of new government employment data. Association officials said the industry faces some headwinds in 2023 that could undermine future growth in construction employment in many parts of the country. “Labor is tight, materials prices are increasing, interest rates are rising, and some sectors of the economy are announcing layoffs,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “These threats could undermine future job growth in the construction sector, especially if expected federal funding for construction remains delayed by…

The most used ConsensusDocs standard contract document is the ConsensusDocs 751 Standard Short Form Subcontract. The Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), through its Contract Documents Forum, has just released comments to this popularly used standard subcontract document. These comments can be found at www.agc.org/contract as a member-only download on the bottom-right side of the webpage. General contractors will want to consider these comments in tailoring subcontract language for their own project-specific purposes – regardless of whether they are using a standard form or bespoke contract. The AGC comments address critical risk allocation issues that are widely applicable to all construction subcontract provisions…

Construction employment climbed in 30 states and the District of Columbia from November to December and 42 states added construction jobs during the past 12 months, according to a new analysis of federal employment data released by the Associated General Contractors of America today. Association officials said demand for many types of commercial construction projects remain strong and that firms would likely have added more people if they could find workers. “Construction employment growth was less widespread in December than in some recent months as homebuilding slowed,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “But most nonresidential contractors continue to report strong…

Union membership in the U.S. construction industry across all occupations declined slightly in 2022, from 12.6 percent to 11.7 percent, according to an annual report recently issued by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (“BLS”). Union representation in the industry also declined, from 13.6 percent to 12.4 percent. Still, union membership in construction remains considerably higher than the 6.0 percent rate across industries in the private sector. Union membership in general in the U.S. fell to its lowest rate on record at 10.1 percent, reports BLS. Among workers in construction and extraction occupations, whether employed in the construction industry or another industry,…