The Obama administration is seeking $3.8-trillion for FY 2013 and to
shoehorn the budget through Congress is recommending slashes for many
federal projects, including major construction projects. But there’s
some good news for the construction sector as the proposed budget
includes a major allotment for surface transportation.
Although that’s just one sector of the industry, it still means a
stronger demand and new opportunities for new construction—for many
contractors, especially those who have already finished their continuing
education contractor (or contractor CE).
A significant construction item in Obama’s budget is a proposed
six-year $476-billion surface transportation commitment, which, the
president had explained in his State of the Union address, would be
funded partly through savings resulting from the withdrawal of U.S.
troops from Iraq and from the U.S.’s reduced presence in Afghanistan.
The administration, however, has competition from both houses of the
Legislative. The Senate has proposed a two-year $109-billion measure
while the House has a six-year $260-billion bill.
Obama’s budget actually features a proposal that he made last year
for a $50-billion funding of transportation infrastructure. Congress,
however, was lukewarm to the proposal.
Some observers believe that the new proposal might in fact gain
better traction than the last one considering that the White House has
actually offered a concession: Obama is calling for a 28-percent
reduction in the Federal Aviation Administration’s Airport Improvement
Program (AIP) construction grants, still leaving AIP some $2.4 billion
to work with.
Even without the new budget, U.S. construction companies managed to
contribute over 21,000 jobs, helping bring down the national
unemployment rate to 8.3 percent, the lowest level yet since the end of
2008. The mild weather conditions during the last winter season
significantly aided job creation in the construction sector—plus
generation of new opportunities for contractors, especially those who
have already finished their continuing education contractor (or
contractor CE).
Across all sectors, the U.S. economy added 243,000 jobs in January,
with the building sector contributing about 10 percent to the total.
Newly available unemployment data revealed that only 206,000
construction workers claimed inability to work because of bad weather, a
number that is less than 50 percent the average for this time of the
year.
Still and all, the construction industry remains hobbled by 17.7
percent unemployment rate, with no robust relief in sight. An uncommon
warm winter season is predicted though by weather authorities—good news
for construction.
As the Obama administration tries to infuse more funding into
federal construction projects and Congress looks for ways to bankroll
urgent work on aging civil works, such as roadways and waterworks, the
industry is hoping for a surge in incoming infrastructure projects in
the United States this year.
IndustrialInstitute.com, a portal of leading e-learning hub
360training.com, provides the continuing education contractor and
contractor CE programs that contractors will need to take full advantage
of incoming construction opportunities this year.
About the Author:
Haley McAdams is a writer, blogger, SEO and an E-commerce
marketeer. She lives in Austin, Texas and writes for a living. She
specializes in writing e-learning courses like
Electrical Continuing Education Online and
Electrician and HVAC Contractors Blog.
