On the one-year anniversary of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, an analysis of funding data shows the stimulus will deliver more construction
CP Staff
On the one-year anniversary of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, an analysis of funding data shows the stimulus will deliver more construction jobs than initially estimated, helping boost transportation spending. Associated General Contractors of America’s analysis also finds that more contractors are likely to perform ARRA-backed jobs this year as work commences on many of the non-transportation projects funded in the initial package.
The stimulus is one of the very few bright spots the construction industry experienced last year and is one of the few hopes keeping it going in 2010, said AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson. The stimulus is saving construction jobs, driving demand for new equipment and delivering better, more efficient infrastructure for our economy.
He noted that new federal reports show the $20.6 billion dollars worth of stimulus highway projects initiated over the past 12 months have saved or created nearly 280,000 direct construction jobs. That amounts to 15,000 jobs per billion dollars invested, well above pre-stimulus estimates that every billion invested in infrastructure projects would create 9,700 direct construction jobs. Simonson added that heavy and civil engineering construction employment was stable last month even as total construction employment declined by 75,000. Meanwhile, highway and road work was one of the only areas to see an increase in spending last year even as total construction spending fell by $100 billion.