With an increasingly active construction market on the West Coast and labor shortages looming, it's becoming a top priority again for firms to find and hold onto top talent.
Ever since the great downturn stalled the Southwest construction industry more than four years ago, each new year has brought with it an optimistic attitude that things would get better. Although the downturn lasted longer than most would have hoped, if activity is as robust as projected in the year ahead, 2014 might finally be the year when the Southwest construction market is able to focus more on growth than recovery. photo courtesy of JB Henderson Construction Construction employment is expected to continue its upward trend as contractors land more work. Related Links: Engineering News Record Architectural Record ENR Southwest's
Now that the downturn appears to have finally ended and the upward slope has begun, those individuals that not only survived, but thrived during those hard times are poised to be the leaders of the next boom.
The national construction unemployment rate (seasonally unadjusted) went from 8.6% in November to 11.4% in December, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics. The rate was still a year-over-year increase from 2012 when the construction unemployment rate was 13.5%. “Construction employment edged down in December (-16,000). However, in 2013, the industry added an average of 10,000 jobs per month. Employment in nonresidential specialty trade contractors declined by 13,000 in December, possibly reflecting unusually cold weather in parts of the country,” according to a news release Jan. 10 from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.In the U.S. Southwest, the recent trend
On Jan. 14, Arizona State University made official that will invest $210 million to renovate and rebuild its aging Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe. Courtesy Arizona State University Rendering of Sun Devil Stadium renovations. Courtesy Arizona State University Rendering of Arizona State University renovations. The proposed plan will completely renovate the facility while preserving Tillman Tunnel and retaining the stadium in its iconic setting between the Tempe/Hayden buttes. The football team will continue to use the stadium throughout the period of renovation which is anticipated to be complete in 2017.The demolition project has been awarded to Hunt Construction, according to
When it comes to the topic of construction jobs in Arizona, there is good news and bad news. The good news is that jobs have rebounded from the depths of the recession by nearly 20,000 jobs or so. The bad news, though, is that the 123,000 or so workers employed by the construction industry in November 2013 are about the same amount as worked in the industry in 1995, according to data released today by the Arizona Department of Administration.According to the data, total construction employment in January 2013 was 116,600 which included 76,100 in specialty trades. In November 2013,
The California High Speed Rail Authority has released the identities of the five construction teams that have submitted qualifications to move on to the next phase in the competition for the contract to build a 60-mile extension of the as-of-yet-unbuilt high-speed rail line. The project would be the second segment in the line that would eventually link southern and northern California. The qualification notice released Wednesday would extend the line from Fresno south to the Tulare-Kern County line near Bakersfield.The firms are:California Rail Builders: Ferrovial Agroman U.S. Corp. and Granite Construction. Ferrovial is an American subsidiary of Ferrovial S.A., a
Related Links: Calif. High-Speed Rail Moves Forward, Slowly California Selects PCM for First High-Speed Rail Section Opponents of California’s high-speed rail project have managed to stop the state from selling at least $8 billion in bonds to fund the initial construction phase after a California Superior judge made several rulings in their favor Nov. 25, but the High-Speed Rail Authority remains confident that the project will eventually be completed.“The Authority intends to comply with the rulings as directed. No one said this would be easy. [As with] all transformative projects, we knew there would be challenges. But the bottom line
Thomas Neary NEARYhas been hired by Skanska as vice president of business development at its Los Angeles office. He was most recently with Morley Construction. The firm also hired Related Links: Upload Your Own People News to ENR California's Photo Gallery ENR California's People Page Tess da Silva as project executive in that office. She has more than 20 years of experience in construction and program management and was previously with Lend Lease. Skanska adds that Larry Casey, senior vice president, has relocated to Los Angeles from Southern Florida.Kevin Alexander has joined Hazen and Sawyer as vice president and regional
One year after the crystal anniversary of ENR Southwest's Best Projects competition, judges from throughout the Southwest were once again called upon to arbitrate the more than 100 construction projects chosen by the submitters as the best works of their firms.
