Thread: Best month for construction jobs in 4 years

Best month for construction jobs in 4 years

March 6th, 2011
Jon Lansner

Are things improving for construction workers? Here’s an analysis of February employment data by the Associated General Contractors of America …

U.S. construction industry added 33,000 jobs in February — largest monthly gain in construction employment since March 2007.

Largest gains? Nonresidential specialty trade sector, added 16,700 jobs in the month; residential specialty trade contractors added 11,000 jobs.

Losers? Just nonresidential building, down 2,000 jobs.

Still, Industry’s unemployment rate was 21.8 percent.

Construction employment is down 2.2 million jobs from the industry’s April 2006 peak.

Ken Simonson, AGCA economist: “Given what this industry has been through, figures like these are as welcome as they are long overdue … The question now is whether these figures reflect a thaw in economic conditions for the industry, or the benefits of warmer weather and less snow in many parts of the country in February.â€

I'm In construction here In California... got laid off Thursday, 7 of my co-workers were laid off the week before.... High gas prices,food prices are starting to have a profoundly negative effect on the economy. I live In It every day.... TS

WorkersNow connects construction workers with jobs

Kathryn Roethel, Special to the Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle March 5, 2011 04:00 AM
Saturday, March 5, 2011

It bothered Joe Mellin and Pablo Fuentes that unemployment in the construction industry last year had grown to more than double the U.S. jobless rate.

They had no experience in construction, but the Stanford students had plenty of practice using social media and cell phones, and they had an idea.

That idea, which Mellin and Fuentes tested in a design class last spring, has become WorkersNow. The company allows construction industry professionals looking for a job to create online profiles with biographies, photos of their work, lists of skills and tools, references and reviews from those they've worked for in the past.

And it's putting people back to work.

"A year ago, we were just two dudes sitting around talking about stuff," said Mellin, who holds a master's degree in physics and studied product design engineering at Stanford. "We ... started learning about construction and staffing. We showed up at 10 different contractors' offices to get to know them and their needs.

"Now we're placing people - real people - in real construction jobs. We have more than 1,000 workers in our system."

Construction companies register with WorkersNow and submit requests for the type of workers they need - perhaps a painter, an electrician or a drywall crew. The request is broadcast as a text message to workers who meet the requirements, and they reply if they're available. The companies can then view the workers' profiles and choose who to hire. The whole process takes only a few hours.

"It's remarkable. Really remarkable," said Cameron Habel, owner of Cameron C. Habel Construction Inc., an Oakland company that specializes in eco-friendly home renovations.

He recounted several negative experiences he's had with other construction staffing companies. "Sometimes they'd show up, and sometimes they wouldn't," he said. "Sometimes I'd get characters I didn't really want on my job. And I'd have to line them up a week in advance."

Habel has hired WorkersNow contractors twice - once to help install a large window and once to install siding on a home. "It was a totally positive experience," he said. "I put in a request on Wednesday for a Thursday job. One of the workers I was supposed to have got sick, but WorkersNow has such a good backup system, they had a replacement at the job site within half an hour."

Mellin and Fuentes, now Stanford grads, screen their workers to ensure they're all in the United States legally and have job references.

"Traditionally, people in the construction industry don't have resumes, and we want to give them that," said Fuentes, who emigrated from Chile to the United States as a teenager and now holds an MBA from Stanford. "We want to help them use the Web to market themselves effectively and help them get back into work. We also want to be very transparent with the employers, so they know who they're hiring."

Joseph Stein of West Sacramento is a journeyman electrician, state-certified with five years of schooling and six years in the field. He and his wife, who worked in the mortgage industry, used to live in Southern California, but they headed north after they were both laid off more than a year ago.

"In L.A., I used to be able to get work at the union hall," Stein said. "I joined the union up here, but work's been slow. When companies need workers, I'm behind more than 300 people on the list."

He signed up for WorkersNow a few months ago after his wife discovered it on Craigslist. Now he receives text messages a few times a week and has been selected for two jobs.

"I like the text messaging," Stein said. "It's nice not to have to get dressed up and go to interviews with each company. You just show up and work."

Stein said he hopes that through WorkersNow's temporary job placements, he might be able to make a good impression on an employer and get hired permanently.

Currently, the majority of WorkersNow employers and workers are in the Bay Area, but the company has begun placing people in Southern California. Mellin and Fuentes say they hope to expand statewide by this summer.

www.workersnow.com/

E-mail Kathryn Roethel at business@sfchronicle.com.

This article appeared on page D - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.c ... 1HHV69.DTL

Originally Posted by topsecret10

I'm In construction here In California... got laid off Thursday, 7 of my co-workers were laid off the week before...

"Pipe fitters that was our last shining hope!" "If it's better it sure is hard to tell!"

"workersnow" connects Illegal aliens with American Contractors. All of these TEMP agencies act as a conduit for Illegals,especially In construction.... TS

Originally Posted by topsecret10

"workersnow" connects Illegal aliens with American Contractors. All of these TEMP agencies act as a conduit for Illegals,especially In construction.... TS

Mellin and Fuentes, now Stanford grads, screen their workers to ensure they're all in the United States legally and have job references.

Originally Posted by JohnDoe2

Mellin and Fuentes, now Stanford grads, screen their workers to ensure they're all in the United States legally and have job references

"Good that's a start, maybe they'll make all these temp services do the same!" Battle on Tin Soldiers!

Originally Posted by stevetheroofer

Originally Posted by JohnDoe2

Mellin and Fuentes, now Stanford grads, screen their workers to ensure they're all in the United States legally and have job references

"Good that's a start, maybe they'll make all these temp services do the same!" Battle on Tin Soldiers!

I have seen several temp agencies on the e-verify list over at Numbers USA.
But still a lot more to go.