Non-United States citizens accounted for 39 percent of the total New York City construction industry workforce and 45 percent of all construction trades workers in 2010, according to a New York Building Congress analysis of the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2010 American Community Survey.

Of the 224,500 men and women in the construction industry surveyed, including both white-collar and blue-collar positions in private firms and on government payrolls, white, non-Hispanic men and women accounted for 40 percent, while Hispanics made up 36 percent. Asians made up 9 percent of the workforce, while 1 percent identified as multi-racial.

As for the 168,200 construction labor workers who lived in New York City in 2010, 63,600 were Queens residents. — Katherine Clarke [more]

The number of stalled construction sites in New York City dropped by 8 percent between October 2010 and October 2011, according to the New York Building Congress, but remained 40 percent above the number recorded two years ago. An average of 638 construction sites were identified as stalled in October of this year, compared to 693 in October 2010 and 454 in October 2009.

The average number of stalled sites in the five boroughs has either fallen or remained constant in each of the past 11 months, the Building Congress said. Overall, Brooklyn remains the leader in stalled sites, with a total of 299, or 47 percent of the city’s total; Queens is second with 131; Manhattan has just 126 frozen sites. -- Katherine Clarke [more]

While the New York City construction industry has been stable in 2011, drastic job and spending cuts are in the cards for 2013, according to a report released today by the New York Building Congress entitled “New York City Construction Outlook 2011-2013.”

Construction spending is expected to total $27.7 billion this year, just shy of the $28 billion spent in 2010, but 11 percent below the $31 billion peak in 2007. The Building Congress expects spending to be about the same in 2012, before plummeting to $23 billion in 2013.

Similarly, the average number of construction jobs will fall by 4,900 this year to 106,900. And after a 5,200 uptick in construction jobs next year, the Building Congress expects the number of jobs to plummet to 91,800, down 40,000 from the 2008 peak. – Adam Fusfeld [more]

Already the third most expensive city to build in, New York City construction costs rose for a second consecutive year, according to two separate industry analysts’ reports cited by Crain’s. Rider Levett Bucknall measured a 2.13 percent increase in year-over-year costs, while the figure was 3.55 percent by Engineering News-Record’s count.
Those gains, while greater than the 1.94 percent recorded in 2010, actually match the national average, suggesting it’s the cost of material, and not labor, that’s powering the rising expense. Construction labor negotiations staged this summer helped control some costs, although the Real Estate Board of New York was unsatisfied with the outcome, as costs, the board says, are still too high. [more]

Around $6.4 billion worth of construction projects were started in the first half of 2011, a nearly 40 percent decline from the first half of 2010, when construction starts reached $10.6 billion, New York Building Congress’ analysis of McGraw-Hill Construction Dodge data covering January through June shows.
The McGraw Hill data encompasses all new construction as well as alterations and renovations to existing structures.
Construction starts in the non-building sector — bridges, highways and mass transit — fell by 38 percent, from $1.7 billion in the first six months of 2010 to $1 billion during the same period this year. Construction starts in the residential sector dropped to $840 million in the first half of 2011, compared to $1.3 billion in the first half of 2010. — Katherine Clarke [more]

Though still below 2008 levels, new construction permits in New York City are on the rise, an indication that developments may be back on track, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Permits for new buildings, alterations and demolition rose by approximately 12 percent during the first half of 2011 compared with the same period last year, according to new data from the Department of Buildings. Demolitions — normally a firm indicator of brand new projects — jumped by 14 percent.
“More construction permits mean more people are going to work,” Buildings Commissioner Robert LiMandri said.

Private developers are still experiencing difficulty when it comes to financing big projects, said Richard Anderson, president of the New York Building Congress, as lenders tighten their restrictions. [more]

The International Union of Operating Engineers Locals 14 and 15 reached new three-year deals late yesterday with contractor associations, avoiding a strike that may have brought city construction to an abrupt halt, Crain’s reported.

Louis Coletti, president of the Building Trades Employers’ Association said the unions “made major adjustments” in order to facilitate a deal though details of the agreements were not immediately available. Operating engineers put a “substantial offer” on the table, according to one labor source. [more]

While for the first time since 2000 Manhattan will see an entire year go by without the opening of a significant new office tower, the borough is gearing up for a surge in new office construction mid-decade, according to recent analysis by the New York Building Congress, released yesterday.

Manhattan added about 20 million square feet of new office space between 2001 and 2010, a modest offering by historical standards. Nearly 4 million square feet of new office space was created annually in the 1970s and 1980s.

“It is remarkable how little office space was actually added in Manhattan during the recent building boom,” said Richard Anderson, president of the Building Congress. — Katherine Clarke [more]

Despite hints of recovery scattered across segments the city’s real estate industry, the construction sector continues to reach new employment lows, while wages increase. Construction employment fell to 101,200 jobs in the first quarter of 2011, a 7 percent decline from the same period a year ago and the lowest total since the second quarter of 1998, according to New York Building Congress’ analysis of New York State Department of Labor statistics released today. The data examines the number of employees on payroll and not days worked, so the snowy 2011 winter does not impact the numbers. Of all sectors of construction, only heavy construction and civil engineering gained jobs thanks to the city’s public infrastructure projects, according to the report. TRD [more]

Residential construction declines powered a solemn 2010 for New York City construction, that included a 12 percent decline in construction spending and 9,000 fewer industry jobs, according to report released by the New York Building Congress today. Construction spending in the city fell in to $23.7 billion in 2010 from $27.1 billion in 2009 and roughly $31 billion in 2008, and employment hit 111,800, the lowest level since 2004. Most of the job losses have come from building construction jobs and specialty trades, as the heavy construction and engineering sectors gained numbers last year. But the most drastic declines over the last two years have come from residential construction: just 5,400 new units were built last year at a cost of $2.2 billion, down from 34,000 and $6.73 billion, respectively, in 2008. TRD Comments