Oklahoma #1 State for construction workers!

[dmoor82]

Nice article from The SFGate,Oklahoma ranks high on several other publications/articles also.Good times here in Oklahoma for construction jobs!http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl....DTL&type=jobs

[dmoor82]

I wonder how many of these construction jobs are workers from Texas and other states?

[Kerry]

What a list. Oklahoma doing good, the other four on the list were only there because the List of Top 5 - had to have 5. When Florida, Illinois, and California make the list it must be really really bad in all the other states. Of course, leave it the San Francisco Chronical to give high marks to the high Union wages.

[BDP]

When Florida, Illinois, and California make the list it must be really really bad in all the other states.

True. The reality is also relative. When California, Illinois, or Florida's economy is bad, they are still several times more productive than ours. They also are not dependent on a couple of industries to drive it. We're getting better, but we still need strong traditional energy markets to really see a boom. When it gets bad there it definitely affects a lot of people and means a lot in lost production, but they still employ more people with better wages than we do here. So, you always have to kind of handicap this stuff. There economy sucks and has lost a lot of jobs, but their economies also created a lot of jobs for a long time while we were having very slow growth.

[Kerry]

Actually, my point was that the only construction taking place here in Florida is highway construction. I am trying to think of any construction that isn't highway related here in Jax. The only thing that comes to mind is the Aloft hotel. I don't even know where homes are being built right now. If that puts Florida in the Top 5 then the other 45 states must really suck.

[SkyWestOKC]

Kerry, I saw a building (looked like it might be a Wal-Mart) being built in Tampa when I was there last week. Besides that and a new Publix and shopping center in Ocala, highway construction was all I saw. This is a great list to be on.

[Spartan]

What a list. Oklahoma doing good, the other four on the list were only there because the List of Top 5 - had to have 5. When Florida, Illinois, and California make the list it must be really really bad in all the other states. Of course, leave it the San Francisco Chronical to give high marks to the high Union wages.

One of a great forum contributor's sillier posts. I think you've just got some weird seething hatred for California because they're liberals.

I know you guys get tired of the Dallas lovefest among some of us on here, but even though Texas is 3 spots behind us, this is the very definition of big-time:

"The Dallas Morning News reported this week that arts-related construction alone has led to a building boom, with 87 arts-related groups in North Texas spending around $183 million on new construction and renovation."

That's a strong point if ever.

[BDP]

Actually, my point was that the only construction taking place here in Florida is highway construction.

Yeah, in that regard I think you're right. A lot of those places got so over built during their booms, that there aren't a whole lot of construction starts. They don't need anything new built, since they could probably absorb demand with what is already completed or started. Since we never get overbuilt with spec construction, we don't end up with a construction bust. Of course, we don't ever really have any booms on the scale of those markets either. Everything we're building now is just a tiny speck compared to what those markets were building just a few years ago.

[Spartan]

Yeah, in that regard I think you're right. A lot of those places got so over built during their booms, that there aren't a whole lot of construction starts. They don't need anything new built, since they could probably absorb demand with what is already completed or started. Since we never get overbuilt with spec construction, we don't end up with a construction bust. Of course, we don't ever really have any booms on the scale of those markets either. Everything we're building now is just a tiny speck compared to what those markets were building just a few years ago.

That's not entirely true. I tend to believe that there is at least something significant going on in Oklahoma right now. I think if you take out Devon, yeah we're less than a tiny spec compared to what they were doing earlier this decade, and compared to what some are still doing. But when you add up all of the institutional construction downtown and Devon, I tend to believe that it is in fact extremely significant and can stand up against anyone.

The problem is...you don't want construction to be all-institutional, which tends to come from government in different forms (i.e., AICC, boathouses, health science center, so on). Just because it doesn't say "Department of Transportation" doesn't mean it's not govt. Here in OKC we are just as much in need of private infill construction as anyone else right now because most nearly all of our loft and condo projects are dead.

[BDP]

But when you add up all of the institutional construction downtown and Devon, I tend to believe that it is in fact extremely significant and can stand up against anyone.

I'm not saying it isn't significant. But compared to those other states, or even just the individual markets of LA, SF, Chicago, Houston, Dallas, and Miami, what we're building right now isn't even close to what has been going on in those places. I'm not running down what we're doing or saying it isn't important or even that it doesn't compare well on a national scale at this exact point in time. It's just that, while Devon Tower is as formidable a project as any single development in those markets, in the last 10-15 years those markets saw a ton of major developments that, when totaled, dwarf what's going on here right now. The best part is, though, that what we're doing right now dwarfs what we did in the last 10-15 years.

[BG918]

I work in construction and we took a dip last year but have picked up this year. There aren't as many large projects but instead lots of smaller projects. As long as energy prices stay stable or increase we should be able to pull out of the recession as the rest of the country picks up.

[Spartan]

I'm not saying it isn't significant. But compared to those other states, or even just the individual markets of LA, SF, Chicago, Houston, Dallas, and Miami, what we're building right now isn't even close to what has been going on in those places. I'm not running down what we're doing or saying it isn't important or even that it doesn't compare well on a national scale at this exact point in time. It's just that, while Devon Tower is as formidable a project as any single development in those markets, in the last 10-15 years those markets saw a ton of major developments that, when totaled, dwarf what's going on here right now. The best part is, though, that what we're doing right now dwarfs what we did in the last 10-15 years.

I think 2005-2008 were the best years for downtown infill.

[Double Edge]

I tend to believe that there is at least something significant going on in Oklahoma right now.

Maps schools construction and renovation is going pretty strong. I'd like to see some figures of how much of the metro construction pie that is right now. I'd also like to see how much of this year's work is stimulus spending, total government vs private this year and others would be interesting.

[dmoor82]

OKC named one of The top cities for office construction!ofcourse of The 1.9mill sq.ft 1.8 is due to The Devon Tower but still OKC is in some good company!http://journalrecord.com/2010/07/19/...-construction/