Construction firms added 28,000 employees in December and continued to raise wages for hourly workers more than other sectors as the industry’s unemployment rate fell to a record low for the month, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of new government data. 

Association officials said the data align with their newly released survey, which found the majority of contractors are optimistic about demand for most construction types, despite reporting difficulty filling positions.

“There are more people working in construction today than ever before, and those figures are likely to continue to increase,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “But as optimistic as contractors are about 2023, they remain worried about their ability to find enough workers amid record-low unemployment.”

Construction employment totaled a record 7,777,000, seasonally adjusted, in December, an increase of 231,000 or 3.1 percent from a year earlier. Nonresidential firms—comprising nonresidential building and specialty trade contractors along with heavy and civil engineering construction firms—added 17,900 employees in December. Residential building and specialty trade contractors together added 9,500 employees.

Pay levels in the construction industry continued to increase in December at a faster pace than in the overall private sector. Average hourly earnings for production and nonsupervisory workers in construction—mostly hourly craft workers—climbed by 6.1 percent, from $31.25 in December 2021 to $33.15 last month. That increase exceeded the 5.0 percent rise in average pay for all private sector production workers. Such workers in construction now earn an average of 18.1 percent more per hour than in the private sector as a whole.

The Schuylerville Public Library is getting a new pavilion that will provide much-needed space for meetings, programs and storage.

The state Education Department has awarded $119,850 in Public Library Construction Grant funds to the library as part of a program designed to assist libraries undertaking major construction and remodeling projects.

The library recently completed some renovations such as lighting upgrades, a 500-square-foot addition and projects to make its facility fully accessible.

Official said the future pavilion will be approximately 27×27 feet on the northwest side of the current library property and feature a covered area for picnic tables and public programming, as well as secure storage.

“We are thrilled to have received this grant. Library services are essential for the well-being of all of our patrons including children, teens, adults, and seniors. This project will also allow the library to serve more of the community’s needs with additional space for outdoor programming, which has been incredibly popular in the last few years. We appreciate all who made this project possible,” library board president Amy Carpenter said.

By Paul Post

A Niskayuna developer hopes to purchase 32 acres just west of Northway Exit 10 with plans for 20 new single-family homes on 1.5-acre, heavily wooded lots.

Each new house, in the $600,000 to $700,000 price range, would have a professional office with a dedicated entrance and parking, although this could be just for the owner’s use.

“It doesn’t have to be where someone is bringing in outside clients or customers for business,” said Chris Myers of Concord Development Company LLC. “It’s literally 90 seconds off the Northway, which I think is going to appeal to a lot of people working not only the Albany area, but the Saratoga area as well.”

People such as real estate agents, insurance agents and attorneys work from home quite often, but the COVID-19 pandemic brought about a major shift in the way many firms conduct business, allowing employees to work from home, which can be much cheaper than maintaining a “brick-and-mortar” office setting.

“I’m not sure we’re marketing to any specific group,” Myers said of the project.