You might think Bill Dunn Sr., who heads up one of the nation’s largest prison builders, is trying to undo a part of the family business by starting a jobs program for ex-cons. Yet Dunn, 86, whose firm has been successful at building around 50 jails in the last 10 years, is troubled deeply by the prison system’s burden on society. “We felt that maybe we had an obligation to help people who needed a chance,” says the chairman emeritus of Kansas City, Mo.-based JE Dunn Construction. Building prisons, he says, costs $50,000 to $100,000 per cell. —Bill Dunn Sr.
Construction's unemployment rate posted its second-consecutive monthly decline, as the industry added 14,000 jobs in March, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported. BLS's latest monthly employment report, released on May 5, showed that construction's April jobless rate improved to 21.8%, from March's 24.9%. But it remained higher than the April 2009 level of 18.7%. Construction's unemployment rate hit a 10-year peak in February, reaching 27.1%. The industry's rates are not adjusted for seasonal variations, and thus tend to improve as the volume of work rises in the spring and summer and hit bottom in the winter lull. Over all,
Arizona’s newly enacted immigration law, which was meant to stem human trafficking and drug-related border violence, could have long-term consequences for the state’s flagging construction industry, in which employment is down 20% from a year ago. Photo: AP/Wideworld Construction employers worry they will be held responsible if workers are found to be undocumented. On April 23, Republican Gov. Janice K. Brewer signed into law Senate Bill 1070, which allows police to detain individuals under “reasonable suspicion” of being an illegal alien. Failure to prove citizenship may result in arrest and a $500 fine. The law has sparked nationwide protests and
Between the Obama administration and Democratic majorities in Congress, construction unions have had the political wind at their backs for more than a year. But with industry unemployment just under 25%, labor hopes the winds of change won’t hit Capitol Hill during November’s midterm elections. Photo: Bruce Buckley/ENR Energy Chief Chu noted nuclear projects. With a mission to keep its momentum going, hundreds of construction union leaders met in Washington, D.C., for their annual legislative conference on April 18-21. Labor leaders savored such policy victories as the repeal of the Bush- era ban on federal project labor agreements and pushing
Construction's unemployment rate declined for the first time in seven months as the industry gained 15,000 jobs in March, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported. That is construction's first monthly increase in jobs, in seasonally adjusted terms, since June 2007, economists said. But the 24.9% March rate, though down from February's 27.1%, was still above March 2009's 21.1%, BLS said in its monthly employment report, released on Apr. 2. Construction economists praised the latest BLS numbers, but were wary about whether last month's improvement is the start of a longer-term jobs trend. For one thing, construction is clearly seasonal,
Although employers keep an eye on their staffs and monitor performance, few companies in construction directly address the issue of burnout with formal stress-management or work-redesign programs. Related Links: Pressure, Layoffs and Long Hours Generate Post-Traumatic Construction Disorder For example, Indianapolis-based RATIO Architects Inc., a 28-year-old planning and architecture practice, worked on keeping spirits up after shedding 12 of its 88 positions in 2009. “Open communication about staff adjustments is key,” says Tracy Imes, RATIO administration director. “We make sure that it’s announced to everyone when it occurs, so employees understand why and how it happened. We are trying to
Construction’s unemployment rate continues to rise, reaching 27.1% in February, its highest level in a decade, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In its latest monthly employment report, released on March 5, BLS says that construction’s jobless rate last month was up from 24.7% in January and also represented an increase from the February 2009 mark of 21.4%. BLS reports that construction shed another 64,000 jobs in February, bringing the industry’s total job losses since December 2007 to 1.9 million. The BLS construction jobless rate isn’t adjusted for seasonal variations. In the highly seasonal construction industry, February tends to
The signs were all there. The project manager’s attention level was down. Tasks that he would typically complete in one day took a week. Mistakes cut the value of the plans he prepared. He no longer followed up with key people on the team. In the end, he lost interest in both the project management and technical aspects of his job, so his managers called him in for a talk that led to a parting of ways. “He told us he was glad to be fired, because the pressures of the job had become too much,” says a former manager.
Construction's unemployment rate continues to rise, reaching a grim 27.1% in February, its highest level in a decade, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported. In its latest monthly employment report, released on March 5, BLS says that construction's jobless rate last month was up from 24.7% in January and also represented an increase from the February 2009 mark of 21.4%. BLS reports that construction shed another 64,000 jobs in February, bringing the industry's total job losses since December 2007 to 1.9 million. The BLS construction jobless rate isn't adjusted for seasonal variations. In the highly seasonal construction industry, even
The fragmented construction business has too many subgroups, many say, but one now forming could be an industry wake-up call. The Construction Millennials of America, a small group of under-30 professionals in the San Francisco Bay Area who banded together in 2008 to network and share workplace stories, now hopes to expand and start influencing company strategy sooner rather than later. Photo: Jill Brown (Left); Jennifter Gross (Center); Doug Durbin (Right) Engineers Brown (left), Gross (center) and Durbin hope their new networking group for “under 30s” in construction will boost young employees’ career and company leadership skills. “Because of the