President Barack Obama's executive actions on immmigration could complicate audits of the federal eligibility for employment forms, says an immigration attorney.Known as I-9s, the forms are one of the most vexing obligations of employers because while workers fill them out employers must verify their accuracy and produce the forms during an audit.The president’s actions are based on his discretion as president in the way laws are enforced. In this case, the Obama administration will prioritize the deportation of recent arrivals and felons, but other enforcement changes are more ambiguous, says Lori Chesser, a senior shareholder at the Des Moines-based Davis
There is a "perfect storm" brewing in the booming construction market, Elizabeth Sanborn, North American director of consulting firm Independent Project Analysis Inc., told owners and contractors at the Construction Users Roundtable's first labor shortage risk mitigation conference in Houston on Nov. 11-12.Sanborn pointed to a steady increase in the cost of projects—with the typical process plant up 70% since 2003—as well as a decline in engineering quality "and a period of increased capital activity in the U.S. where labor demand may outstrip labor supply.”Daniel Groves, CURT operations director, noted that Texas will see $380.3 billion in commercial construction put
The 4,800-MW Medupi powerplant, near Johannesburg, is among the major projects that have fueled construction job growth in South Africa. Related Links: South Africa Powerplant Project Will Get More Environmental Monitoring South Africa Energy Raises Demand for Heavy Machinery Big South Africa Workers' Strike Settlement Ends Month of Construction Sector Disruption South Africa's construction sector led the country's third-quarter job growth due to the expansion of a government-financed public-works program and the government's backing of a renewable-energy build plan.Statistics South Africa, the country's economic data collection service, says 99,000 of 116,000 jobs created in the three-month period ended Sept. 30
Related Links: Bureau of Labor Statistics release, with data tables AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson's comments and analysis ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu's comments and analysis Construction’s October unemployment rate fell to the lowest monthly level in nearly seven years, as the industry added 12,000 jobs, the Labor Dept. has reported.Construction economists see the low jobless rate as one signal that the industry may start to have problems finding enough workers for important types of positions.The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics said in its latest employment snapshot, released on Nov. 7, that construction’s jobless rate declined to 6.4% last month,
Enlarge FMI Data Business developers and field engineers gained the most, but bonuses were down. Related Links: Incentive Compensation: Money Well Spent? Link to FMI 2014 compensation analysis Demand for construction and engineering professionals in the post-recession era has pushed pay levels up 10% since 2008, says a new compensation survey by construction consultant FMI Corp. While pay rose for a number of jobs, firms' need for new business gave marketing managers the steepest hike."The industry is focusing on levers of growth and efficiency that were neglected in the past," says survey author and FMI consultant Mike Rose. He says
Photo by PR newswire $6-billion LNG project in Hackberry, La., set to break ground next month, will challenge region's craft-labor supply. Related Links: Chemical company Sasol to begin construction on $8B ethane cracker complex near Lake Charles Website for AGC National Worker Shortage Survey and Regional/State breakdowns The construction craft and professional worker shortage is worsening, says a new Associated General Contractors' survey of 1,000 construction firms, but the workforce outlook did not appear to daunt chemical giant Sasol from making, on Oct. 27, a final investment decision for its $8.1-billion ethane cracker in Lake Charles, La., that anticipates a
Related Links: North America's Building Trades Unions Website Oil and gas development in the five-state Marcellus shale region in the Northeast U.S. has generated more than 45,000 new construction jobs, says a study commissioned by building trades and and sector union employers.The report, sponsored by the Oil and Gas Industry Labor-Management Committee, studied employment data in all or part of Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Ohio and West Virginia between 2008 and 2014.Research, conducted by the University of Illinois School of Labor and Employment Relations, was based on data from global industrial market intelligence, National Maintenance Agreement collective bargaining pacts covering 14
Related Links: Morrissey-Goodale website A poor relationship with the boss was the primary reason for firms to lose key hires, according to a September survey of industry firm executives by construction sector management and research consulting firm Morrissey-Goodale LLC, Newton, Mass. The survey found that relationship issues were cited by 24% of the 50 responding executives, including CEOs, presidents and vice presidents of architecture, engineering and construction firms. About 21% of respondents cited the lack of advance opportunities for the departing employees, with work/life balance concerns noted by 16% and compensation/benefits cited by 11%. About 5% of respondents pointed to departing hires
Photo by Shem Oirere Kenya's Principal Secretary for Infrastructure John Mosonik (center) with managers of China Road and Bridge Corp. at the rail project site in Mombasa. Related Links: China Africa Research Initiative-Johns Hopkins U. School of Advanced International Studies The wife of Cameroon’s Deputy Prime Minister Amadou Ali had an unusual diplomatic task to perform on Oct. 11.She was at the Yaounde airport bidding farewell to a group of 10 tearful Chinese workers. They had been kidnapped from a road project in mid-May by Boko Haram militants and after long months of captivity had finally been freed to go
Photo Courtesy of CREW Network CREW Network President Judith Nitsch, an engineering firm exec (left), queries potential 2016 presidential contender Hillary Clinton on womens' risk-taking and role in the economy at Miami conference. Related Links: Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW) Website Improving global economics and changing social trends offer encouraging signs for commercial development and near-term building prospects, speakers told the more than 1,200 attendees of the Commercial Real Estate Women, or CREW, annual conference in Miami.Rival expansions of the Panama and Suez canals, for example, are spawning upgrades to ports and related global building and transport development, experts said
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