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Weekly Roundup: Slow US construction job growth, airport infrastructure grants, & more

Weekly Roundup: Slow US construction job growth, airport infrastructure grants, & more

Construction Insider is a weekly roundup of the latest news and insights in construction.

Labor stats show slow growth for U.S. construction in May

Around 4000 construction jobs and 3000 manufacturing jobs were added in May, but these pale in comparison to figures from last year which were 17900 and 15300 for construction and manufacturing, respectively. BLS

  • The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports an additional 75,000 jobs in May, which was significantly less than the 180,000 gain per a survey by Dow Jones.
  • Wage growth is also slowing according to the BLS report, hitting a 3.1% hourly wage increase in May compared to a 3.4% peak this year.
  • The manufacturing sector has been suffering a steeper dip in growth, recording only an average wage increase of 2.2% from last year’s figures. Average hours worked in this sector has remained unchanged since last August.

Non-residential construction starts increase by one-third

ConstructConnect reported a one-third increase for non-residential construction starts, totalling up to $52.2 billion worth of mega projects. ConstructConnect

  • Five mega projects worth over $1 billion each have triggered a +35.2% month-to-month increase in construction starts among non-residential work.
  •  The total value of the five mega projects in May is $18.6 billion. One of the projects is the construction of an LNG export terminal for Golden Pass Products near Port Arthur, Texas.
  •  May’s increase in construction starts is still -5.9% lower than the value from May 2018, which accounted for a $10 billion construction project for Foxconn Technology in Racine, Wisconsin.

381 airports to receive $840 million worth of infrastructure grant

The US Department of Transportation is set to give out $840 million worth of infrastructure grant to 381 airports in 47 states as part of the Airport Rehabilitation Program (AIP). FAA

  • A total of 432 grants will fund infrastructure projects all over the US, which will benefit 381 out of 3,332 airports in the country.
  • Projects that are covered by the grants include runway reconstruction and rehabilitation, construction of firefighting facilities, and the maintenance of taxiways and terminals.
  • Airports covered by the AIP will receive annual funding based on project needs, but discretionary funding is also available should the capital project exceeds the available entitlement funds.

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