Author: agcnews

For nearly three years, the U.S. construction industry has been buffeted by unprecedented increases in material costs, supply-chain bottlenecks, and a tight labor market. AGC’s Construction Inflation Alert is intended to help owners, public officials, and others understand what contractors are experiencing. The December 2022 edition—the 9th since early 2021, outlines steps owners and contractors can take to adjust to the fast-changing market conditions. Chapters and members are encouraged to forward the latest information about conditions, such as supplier newsletters and “Dear Valued Customer” letters, to Chief Economist Ken Simonson at ken.simonson@agc.org. AGC will continue to update the Alert as needed. 

Construction companies added 20,000 employees in November and continued to raise wages for hourly workers more steeply than other sectors as the industry’s unemployment rate tumbled, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of new government data. Association officials said the data shows that firms would have added significantly more workers if they could find more people to hire. “It is heartening that both residential and nonresidential construction firms were able to add employees in November,” said. “But the number of job openings continues to outpace hiring, suggesting employers wanted to bring on many more workers than they…

Total construction spending decreased by 0.3 percent for the month of October with downturns in homebuilding and most major nonresidential categories, according to an analysis the Associated General Contractors of America released today of federal spending data. Association officials noted contractors are struggling to complete projects as the number of open positions at the end of October topped hires in the month. “Most nonresidential contractors report full order books but are having trouble hiring enough workers to keep projects on schedule,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “Rising interest rates and costs for materials are likely to choke off…

Construction employment increased in 268 or 75 percent of 358 metro areas between October 2021 and October 2022, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of new government employment data. Association officials noted, however, that job vacancies outpaced hiring as construction firms struggle to find enough qualified workers to hire. “While three out of four metros added construction jobs in the past year, gains would have been even more widespread if contractors could find enough qualified workers,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “Job openings at the end of September topped the number of construction employees hired all…

New York and North Dakota Add the Most Jobs, While Pennsylvania and Louisiana Have Largest Decreases;Open Positions at End of September Exceeds Total Number of Employees Hired During the Entire MonthConstruction employment climbed in 27 states from September to October, according to a new analysis of federal employment data released by the Associated General Contractors of America today. Association officials said, however, that many more contractors would have added employees if qualified applicants were available, citing data showing a surge in construction job openings. Read more.

AGC CEO Stephen Sandherr and members of AGC’s Government Affairs staff met with US Department of Labor Secretary Marty Walsh on November 10 to discuss top industry priorities including, among other things, addressing the workforce shortage through skills training and attracting individuals to the construction industry as well as the importance of job site safety. AGC has long been advocating for increased federal education investments, primarily through Perkins funding for Career and Technical Education (CTE) and asked Walsh to work with the US Department of Education and Congress to increase funding to better align with individual school district’s needs. AGC…

The FAR Council’s new proposed rule creates two new categories for federal contractors – significant contractors and major contractors – which trigger significant reporting requirements related to greenhouse gas emissions. On November 14, the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Council released a proposed rule (FAR Case 2021-015) that would create new and onerous reporting requirements for virtually every federal construction contractor. The proposed rule introduces two new categorizes for federal contractors, “significant contractors” and “major contractors.” Significant contractors, $7.5 – $50 million in federal contract obligations (not revenue) in prior fiscal year will be required to inventory Green House Gas (“GHG”) Scope 1…

AGC of America’s (AGC) advocacy fund is proactively seeking to improve general contractors’ business environment by participating in a case before the Supreme Court of Tennessee. AGC and the AGC of Tennessee jointly submitted an amicus (or friend of the court) brief to preserve a general contractor’s right not to be sued for the damages twice under different legal theories by its contracting partner seeking to receive a double recovery. In Tennessee, a lower court initially ruled that a general contractor was liable to its subcontractor for damages for breach of a contract signed by the parties, as well as allowing recovery under…

AGC warns the IRS to look before it leaps into quickly rolling out prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements—for which it has no internal expertise or experience—tied to new private development tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act. On November 4, AGC provided the IRS with extensive feedback on a notice from the U.S. Department of the Treasury seeking public comments on labor provisions tied to clean energy tax incentives—among others—in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The notice marks the first step in outlining how contractors must comply with prevailing wage and registered apprenticeship requirements for projects to be eligible for the full value of the tax…

AGC of America and seven fellow employer groups jointly submitted an amicus brief at the U.S. Supreme Court on November 8 urging the Court to reverse a Washington Supreme Court decision that prevents a company from recovering damages from a union that sanctioned the destruction of company property. The issue in the case, Glacier Northwest, Inc. v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local Union No. 174, is whether the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) preempts an employer’s state tort claim against a union for intentionally destroying the employer’s property in the course of a labor dispute. The case arose in the context of collective…