Today, on 8/11, AGC joins the rest of the underground damage prevention community to remind everyone that is involved in an excavation project to follow the key steps to safe digging and damage prevention - dialing 811. Homeowner, landscapers, and other casual excavators must join professional excavation contractors in dialing 811 before any digging project.

AGC led the construction industry’s effort to restart several billion dollars worth of airport construction projects.  The projects were halted in late July after Congress failed to pass an extension to federal aviation legislation because of a dispute over proposed changes to airline union voting rules and subsidies for air service to rural communities.  Without the legislation in place, the Federal Aviation Administration was unable to fund billions of dollars worth of airport improvement projects.The association worked to educate the media and members of Congress about the economic impacts of cancelling so many airport projects.  AGC chief economist Ken Simonson explained to Reuters, CNN, National Public Radio, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and many other reporters that the construction halt will cost 24,000 construction jobs, and threaten another 11,000 jobs in related construction supply businesses and 35,000 jobs in the broader economy.[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"4558","attributes":{"class":"media-image alignnone size-medium wp-image-9664","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"300","height":"167","title":"LaGuardia Event","alt":""}}]]Meanwhile, AGC CEO Steve Sandherr participated in an Aug. 1 media event with U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood at New York’s LaGuardia Airport to make the case that construction workers shouldn’t have to suffer because Washington can’t resolve an unrelated policy dispute. And AGC’s legislative team met with members of Congress to resolve the issue.Thanks in large part to AGC’s efforts, Congress enacted new temporary extension to the aviation legislation on Aug. 5, helping restart billions of dollars worth of airport construction projects.  The extension, however, does little more than put off the disagreements among lawmakers over the broader reauthorization of the FAA, which has been stalled over labor issues as well as funding levels and subsidies to rural airports. This means the FAA may face a similar shutdown threat when this short-term extension expires on Sept. 16.AGC will continue to work towards passage of a multiyear FAA reauthorization bill. You can send a message to your legislators through AGC’s web site urging Congress to complete action on this long overdue legislation.For more information, contact Brian Deery at (703) 837-5319 or deeryb@agc.org.

Construction employment inched up by 8,000 jobs to a 15-month high in July but remained far below the peak set in early 2006, according to an analysis of new federal employment data released by AGC.

AGC and AGC of Michigan held a media event in Detroit to highlight the fact that the city’s construction job growth reached an 11-year high as the local industry added 1,800 construction jobs in the past year. 

Construction employment increased in 149 out of 337 metropolitan areas between June 2010 and June 2011, declined in 141 and stayed level in 47, according to a new analysis of federal employment data released by AGC.

Construction spending edged up 0.2 percent in June as increases in private nonresidential construction outweighed continuing declines in private residential and public construction spending, according to AGC 's analysis of new Census Bureau data. 

AGC's Stephen Sandherr joined Secretary LaHood and FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt at New York's LaGuardia Airport to discuss the economic impacts of the abrupt halt to $2.5 billion worth of airport construction projects. The event took place at the halted construction project to demolish the decommissioned FAA Airport Traffic Control Tower.

Congressional failure to pass federal aviation legislation is putting roughly 70,000 construction and related jobs at risk by forcing a halt to $2.5 billion worth of airport construction projects.  The halt of so many airport projects will have economically "devastating" impacts on the industry, the economist warned.

Construction employment declined in 27 states  between June 2010 and 2011 and dropped in 22 states and D.C. between May and June, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of state employment data released by the Labor Department. 

Construction costs again outpaced other producer prices in June but contractors remained unable to recoup the costs through higher bid prices, according to an analysis of producer price index figures released July 14, by AGC.