Homebuilder confidence report — Nov. 17

The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index will be released on Tuesday, Nov. 17. Last month, the index grew by 3 points to 64, marking its highest level since October of 2005 — at the end of the housing boom. NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe said after the October report, "This upward momentum shows that our industry is strengthening at a gradual but consistent pace."

As the first in the wave of housing market reports, the builder confidence report will signal how the residential industry views current and future prospects. 

Reactions to OSHA fine increase feature article — Nov. 17

Earlier this month, a "little-noticed" provision in the budget bill signed by President Obama raised federal U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration fines for workplace safety violations for the first time in 25 years. The measure — which brings penalties in line with inflation increases since 1990 — also requires future OSHA and state agency penalty hikes to continue to rise with inflation.

OSHA has not yet announced the exact increase, which could reach as much as an 80% bump. Industry experts said they were "caught by surprise" by the provision, which would likely raise maximum penalties for the most severe violations from $70,000 to $125,000, and other serious violations from $7,000 to $12,500. They noted, however, that the maximum fines could be lower than the 80% increase after a rule-making process.

The construction industry would see a huge impact as the result of this kind of OSHA penalty increase, as construction fatalities accounted for 20.6% of all total private industry fatalities last year, according to the BLS. 

Construction Dive will take a deeper look at the coming increase in penalties in our feature article on Tuesday, Nov. 17. We asked industry experts what they think of the move, how it will impact contractors, whether the provision is part of an overall move toward heightened enforcement, and what companies can do to minimize their risk of facing these fines.

Housing starts data — Nov. 18

The Commerce Department will release housing starts data for October on Wednesday, Nov. 18. Last month, starts rose 6.5% between August and September to an annualized rate of 1.21 million. Multifamily dominated the growth, surging 18.3%, while single-family rose 0.3%. The September rate reached the second-highest level in eight years.

Economists attributed the September gains to a strengthening job market and wage gains that are allowing potential buyers to save up for down payments and spend more on new homes.

With recent improvement in the economy, will October's numbers offer good news for the residential industry?

Greenbuild conference coverage — Nov. 19-20

Greenbuild, the world's largest conference and expo dedicated to green building, will take place in Washington, DC, this week. Green construction is a massive industry, as the sector's growth is expected to account for more than one-third of jobs in the nation's construction industry — 3.3 million — and $190.3 billion worth of labor earnings by 2018.

Construction Dive will cover the multi-day show and publish articles about the most interesting green building developments in the days after the event. What does the National Association of Home Builders forecast for the sector's growth? How does contracting giant Skanska address sustainability in its projects? We'll answer these questions and more in our coverage of the event.

Senior housing crisis feature article — Nov. 19

The giant cohort of baby boomers is aging and creating more demand for senior housing facilities. However, reports have indicated there just aren't enough housing options for seniors. On Thursday, Nov. 19, we'll look at what many call a "crisis," find out if experts expect it to continue to get worse, examine alternative housing options that have emerged, and ask whether the "aging in place" movement is on the rise as a result.

AGC state employment data — Nov. 20

The Associated General Contractors of America will release its monthly state-by-state construction employment report during the afternoon of Friday, Nov. 20. After millions of workers left the trade during the recession, the industry has continued to struggle with finding qualified laborers to staff the long-awaited boom in construction projects. A nationwide survey of 1,358 contractors — conducted by the AGC during July and August — found that 86% are struggling to fill hourly craft jobs or salaried professional positions.

Last month, the AGC reported that construction employment grew in only 23 states between August and September, while year-over-year, 35 states saw an increase between September 2014 and September 2015. AGC CEO Stephen Sandherr said of the disappointing results, "While overall demand for construction continues to grow and sap the pool of available labor, firms that work on federally-funded projects are dealing with a lot of uncertainty."

Will the AGC's next report offer a more positive sign for the industry?