construction

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Men Hit With 80% of US Layoffs
 Men Hit With 80% of US Layoffs 

Men Hit With 80% of US Layoffs

The gap between male and female unemployment is the widest on record

(Newser) - Of the 5.1 million US jobs that have evaporated since the recession began, men have lost nearly 80% of them, the Financial Times reports, resulting in the widest gap between unemployment rates for men and women since recordkeeping began a half-century ago. Layoffs have nudged the male unemployment rate...

New Home Construction Down 11% in March

Slow pace projects that market dive hasn't run its course

(Newser) - Housing construction plunged to the second-lowest level on record last month, providing a sobering sign that the worst housing slump in decades has not ended. Construction of new homes dropped by nearly 11% , the second-lowest construction pace in records that go back 50 years. The decline was worse than economists...

Quake City in Italy Begins Construction Probe

Rescuers find pillars made of sand

(Newser) - Reeling from the loss of 293 people and counting from this week's earthquake, officials in Italy's regional capital L'Aquila are investigating whether shoddy construction exacerbated the disaster, reports BBC. The probe is expected to focus on modern structures that rose after stringent safety standards were enacted. Rescuers have reported that...

Contractors Bid Hot and Heavy for 'Shovel-Ready' Jobs

States saving big time in fight for contracts

(Newser) - Contractors are scrambling to get in line for stimulus-funded "shovel-ready" jobs, reports the Washington Post, and states are finding their stimulus dollars are going a lot further than expected as a result. Companies that were building subdivisions not so long ago are now competing for government jobs and going...

Vick's New Job: Construction Worker

(Newser) - Lawyers for Michael Vick say the incarcerated football player “is going to turn a new leaf,” the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. In bankruptcy court in Virginia today, one of Vick’s attorneys said the convicted dogfighter has a $10-an-hour construction job lined up for him when he gets out...

Stimulus Flows Into Patchwork of Road Projects

Thousands of small p

(Newser) - Although the stimulus package that Barack Obama signed last month contains eye-watering sums, the earliest projects out of the gate are far from monumental: widening a highway in Kansas, resurfacing some roads in Missouri. More than a dozen states have announced their plans to spend their share of the $50...

Ashton Rails on 'Jackass' Neighbor, Apologizes

Actor later apologizes for rant

(Newser) - Ashton Kutcher has apologized after lashing into his neighbor with a profanity-laced online video, the Huffington Post reports. The actor vented after his "jackass" neighbor dared to start noisy construction on his house at 7am (which is perfectly legal in LA). After the neighbor shot back, calling Ashton “...

Caterpillar to Slash 20K Jobs
 Caterpillar to Slash 20K Jobs 

Caterpillar to Slash 20K Jobs

Don't they know Obama wants to heap money on infrastructure?

(Newser) - Caterpillar Inc will cut 20,000 jobs—or 18% of its workforce—after posting a 32% drop in fourth-quarter income, the Wall Street Journal reports. “We were whipsawed in the fourth quarter,” said CEO Jim Owens. “Key industries were hit by a rapidly deteriorating global economy.”...

Male-Dominated Industries Bear Brunt of Job Losses

Construction, manufacturing cuts disproportionately hit men

(Newser) - The gap between men's and women’s unemployment is at a 25-year high because job cuts have hit especially hard in male-dominated industries like construction and manufacturing, reports Reuters. Some 80% of the nearly 3 million workers who lost jobs between November 2007 and November 2008 were men. Women hold...

Atlanta Footbridge Collapse Kills 1

(Newser) - An elevated walkway under construction at Atlanta’s Botanical Garden collapsed today, killing a worker and injuring 18, the Journal-Constitution reports. Workers were pouring concrete for the 40-foot-high footbridge when the collapse set off a scene one EMT described as "sheer chaos." Those nearby described a “loud...

Big Dig Manslaughter Charge Dropped After $16M Deal

Company made epoxy whose failure resulted in death in Boston tunnel

(Newser) - The legal wrangling around a 2006 Boston tunnel collapse that killed one woman appears to finally be over, the Globe reports. In exchange for a $16 million fine, prosecutors have dropped manslaughter charges against Powers Fasteners, which manufactured a supposedly fast-setting epoxy that failed to support ceiling panels. Powers must...

Obama's 'Macho' Stimulus Plan Forgets Women
Obama's 'Macho' Stimulus Plan Forgets Women
OPINION

Obama's 'Macho' Stimulus Plan Forgets Women

Job creation would largely go to men

(Newser) - Barack Obama’s stimulus package calls for new jobs to fix roads and bridges, build solar panels and wind-power turbines, and create green cars. Sounds great, except for one thing: These are all fields that employ mostly men. "This might as well be called the macho stimulus package,"...

16 Missing in Deadly China Subway Collapse

Five bodies pulled from construction cave-in

(Newser) - Rescuers continue today to search for 16 workers missing at the site of a collapsed subway tunnel in eastern China, reports the Xinhua news agency. At least five people were killed when the construction site caved in Saturday on a Hangzhou roadway, swallowing a bus and 11 other vehicles. "...

Toll in Haiti Collapse Hits 75
 Toll in Haiti Collapse Hits 75 

Toll in Haiti Collapse Hits 75

(Newser) - The death toll in the Haitian school collapse has risen to 75, the AP reports. The mayor of the Port-au-Prince suburb where it occurred said 17 dead students have been found so far today. Another 80 are being treated for injuries, many of them serious, and hundreds more children could...

Economy May Cripple Chicago Spire Project

Consultants file liens against world's tallest skyscraper

(Newser) - The sputtering economy could topple plans to erect the nation’s tallest skyscraper, reports the Chicago Tribune. Consultants on the construction of the Chicago Spire have filed liens, with celebrity architect Santiago Calatrava seeking more than $11.3 million and a Chicago-based firm demanding $4.85 million. The developer’s...

Mandatory Tests Key to Feds' New Crane Regulations

Operators will be made to pass qualification exams in wake of fatal accidents

(Newser) - Crane operators will be made to pass certification tests, the AP reports, as the US Department of Labor, reacting to a number of deadly crane accidents this year, moved to make written and performance assessments mandatory in every state. In the first update since 1971, the tests will measure safety...

Minneapolis Greets New Bridge
 Minneapolis Greets New Bridge 

Minneapolis Greets New Bridge

Drivers queued up to see collapsed bridge replacement

(Newser) - Festive honks awoke Minneapolis today as first responders to last year's bridge collapse led a procession over its newly-minted replacement. Drivers waved and passengers snapped photos as they rode over the 10-lane interstate at a creeping 10mph. Traffic was backed up for a mile after the bridge opened at 5am...

Construction Theft Is Building Concern

$5B in annual losses drive home prices up by as much as 10%

(Newser) - Increasing theft of building materials from construction sites, especially residential projects, is driving up the cost of homes to consumers as much as 10%, the New York Times reports. Experts say as much as $5 billion a year is being lost to thieves looking to profit from skyrocketing prices for...

South Jersey Man Finds Gator on Side the Road

No explantion where 4-foot, 60-to-80-pound beast in cage came from

(Newser) - A South Jersey man spotted something unusual on his way to work yesterday, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports: a caged alligator on the side of a road. Fred Schubert decided to help out the 4-foot, 60-to-80-pound beast, loading the cage into his pickup. After calling several wildlife agencies, an official came...

Dubai High Rise Would Add Novel Twists

Revolving floors just one of 80-story tower's planned innovations

(Newser) - If heights make your head spin, a planned 80-story tower in Dubai might not be the place for you. Set to be the "world's first building in motion," David Fisher's design features doughnut-shape floors that rotate 360 degrees around a fixed cement core, the AP reports. It would...

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