The current flap over housing construction's run rate of 500, 000 plus is misplaced.
At any rate, construction on something has already begun, much to the celeb-weary dismay of some West Villagers.
Combine that with an unemployment rate in construction of over 20% and you have an economic problem that overshadows manufacturing, transportation, and all the rest.
Construction of single-family homes fell by 5.5 percent to an annual rate of 829, 000 units, the lowest level since April 1991, while multifamily construction was up 4.4 percent to an annual rate of 332, 000 units.
The Commerce Department said Wednesday that new home construction fell to its lowest rate in 14 years last month.
Those in working class jobs in fields such as construction and manufacturing had an unemployment rate of 14.6% after the recession.
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Starts, which are a forward indicator as they track construction, rose by an annualized rate of 750, 000 in August from a downwardly revised 733, 000 in June.
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And in an encouraging sign for the rest of the year, applications for building permits, a sign of future construction, rose to an annual rate of 925, 000 in January.
It carries a floating interest rate which is currently at about 1.75%, well below the 5.2% average rate on commercial-construction loans by U.S. banks in the fourth quarter, according to Trepp LLC.
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This index fell by six points in May to 45, its lowest since 1995. (A score below 50 suggests that more builders reckon the market is poor than think it good.) Economists at Goldman Sachs estimate, from the fall in the homebuilders' index, that construction will fall at an annual rate of 10-15% in the next four quarters.
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Even if job losses in construction and manufacturing begin to push up the unemployment rate, the labour market will still be tight.
Further interest-rate cuts and heavier public spending on construction and defence, and possibly more tax cuts, should support the economy by next year.
Privately held construction companies continue to grow sales at a higher rate than a year ago, according to recent data from Sageworks Inc.
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Construction, with a 13.1 percent unemployment rate, continued to shed more jobs than any other sector, losing about 12, 000 jobs during November, according to the Labor Department.
Applications for building permits, a gauge of future construction, declined 3.9 percent to an annual rate of 902, 000.
Utility construction companies analyzed by Sageworks grew sales at an impressive rate of 18.29% in 2011, she said.
Applications for building permits, considered a good barometer of upcoming construction, declined 3.9 percent to an annual rate of 902, 000.
Construction workers have been taught stretching techniques, reducing their rate of injury.
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Future construction permits increased by 4.6 percent to an annual rate of 946, 000, the quickest since June of 2008.
Long Island, however, stands out in two ways: the 5th-lowest vacancy rate in the country, but also a very low rate (98th out of 100) of new construction.
The increase in the seasonally adjusted annual rate for March was fueled by a surge in apartment construction.
Some key data due to be released this week includes consumer confidence on Tuesday, construction spending on Wednesday, niitial claims on Thursday, and the unemployment rate on Friday.
Real-estate consultancy Soufun forecasts a growth rate of 6%-7% in new property under construction in 2012, a sharp slowdown from 20.5% in the first 11 months of 2011.
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The structure of the eurozone, with one interest rate for all, enabled countries like Spain to embark on a construction boom.
Residential construction has also been on a growth path, increasingat a 17.5% rate in Q4 2012 after 13.5% growth in Q3 and 8.5% growth in Q2.
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The data, which measures the construction of new homes and apartments, is a slightly lower drop than the annual rate of 985, 000 units that economists polled by Thomson Financial had expected.
Therefore, in Q2 2011, while construction and other machinery sales will continue growing along with the global GDP, its rate of growth will likely moderate due to the many global economic challenges.
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While high fuel prices would logically make smaller and more efficient models in greater demand, and thus demand higher prices, NADA says that used full-size pickups are commanding premium prices these days, with depreciation at about half the rate of the average auto, due in part to the healthier housing and construction sectors.
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As a result, the consistently high interest rate regime has impacted the growth of companies operating in China, particularly in the construction industry.
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In terms of floor area, property construction starts increased 16% to 1.9 billion square meters in 2011, a growth rate down sharply from 42% in 2010, data released Tuesday by the National Bureau of Statistics showed.
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