Industry Statistics and Interesting Facts
- The construction industry is the largest employer in the world and is projected to grow 70% by 2025.
- The construction industry employs approximately 200,000 people in Washington.
- Downtown Seattle has 65 major construction projects underway totaling $3.5 billion as of June 2016.
- 3,000 new hotel rooms are scheduled to open in Seattle by the Summer of 2018.
- Construction makes up about 10% of America’s Gross Domestic Product. It is one of country’s largest industries.
- The office market in the Puget Sound region has 6.9 million square feet currently under construction, making it the fifth busiest in the country behind Houston, the Bay Area of California, New York and Dallas.
- The wage for a Group 3 Laborer in Western Washington is $32.29 an hour plus $9.80 an hour in health care and pension benefits.
- The wage for a first year Laborer apprentice in Western Washington is $17.37 an hour plus $9.80 an hour in health care and pension benefits.
- There are 7,700 new apartments in the Seattle pipeline through 2019.
- The construction industry needs 240,000 craft professionals every year to keep up with project demands nationwide.
- Seattle ranks among the top 10 biotech clusters in the country.
- Estimates indicate the U.S. population of construction machines is approximately 3 million units but only about one-third of the total fleet is in operation at any given time.
- 97% of General Contractors currently use mobile devices on jobsites.
- Bluebeam Revu for the iPad is the most widely used app in the construction industry.
- The Apple iOS will command 47.5% of the tablet market share by 2015.
- Tunnel boring machines (TBM’s) were first developed in the 1950’s and have become the standard method for putting tunnels in hard rock and compacted sediment.
- The University of Washington, Washington State University and Central Washington University offer Construction Management degrees.
- Nationwide, there are over 375,000 apprentices currently obtaining the skills they need to succeed while earning wages they need to build financial security.
- In Washington, the Construction Craft Laborer Apprenticeship program consists of 6000 hours of on the job training and 480 hours of classroom training before being promoted to Journeyperson.
- Training for apprentices registered with a local union hall is free including free room and board while attending courses at various training locations.
- There are currently over 9,000 apprentices working in construction in Washington State, learning a trade and earning wages to secure their future.
- Construction related jobs account for approximately 66% of all jobs in the United States.
- Caterpillar is the world’s #1 heavy equipment manufacturer. Komatsu and Hitachi are #2 and #3.
- Currently, there are approximately 6,000 women who are members of the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC).
