Labor and Material Requirements for

Private Multifamily Housing Construction

U. S. Department of Labor 

Bureau of Labor Statistics 

1976

Bulletin 1892

DOCUMENT COLLECTION

APR 2 61976

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Public Library •

• • ’ yj

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United States. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Labor and material requirements for private multifamily housing construction.

(Bulletin - Bureau of Labor Statistics ; 1892) 

Bibliography: p. 28.

1. Wages--Building trades--United States.

2. Labor costs--United States. 3* Construction 

industry--United States--Costs. I. Finn, Joseph T. 

II. Wood, Frank L., 1915- III. Title. IV. Series: United States. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Bulletin ; 1892.

HD^966.B92U*A- 1976 331.2’89’08310973 76-7619

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Labor and Material Requirements for

Private Multifamily Housing Construction

U.S. Department of Labor 

W. J. Usery, Jr., Secretary 

Bureau of Labor Statistics 

Julius Shiskin, Commissioner 

1976

Bulletin 1892

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Make checks payable to Superintendent of Documents.

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Preface

This bulletin is the first study of private multifamily housing which the Bureau of 

Labor Statistics has conducted. It provides detailed data on employee-hour requirements by occupation and contractor as well as information on the amount and type of 

materials and supplies required. Other studies in the series include highways, general 

hospitals, elementary and secondary schools, private single-family housing, public 

housing, Federal office buildings, civil works, college housing, and sewer works. Such 

information enables policymakers to determine the number of jobs, by occupation, 

generated from a given amount of expenditures for construction.

Joseph T. Finn and Frank L. Wood of the Office of Productivity and Technology 

prepared this bulletin under the supervision of Robert Ball. Larry G. Ludwig wrote the 

“Nature of industry” section in the Introduction.

A summary of the results of this study was published in the January 1975 issue of 

the Monthly Labor Review. (“Labor and Material Requirements for Apartment 

Construction,” by Robert Ball, pp. 70—73.) This bulletin elaborates on that summary 

and presents the survey findings in greater detail.

The Bureau wishes to acknowledge the generous cooperation of the Federal Housing 

Administration of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The Bureau also 

wishes to thank the nearly 3,000 general and special trade contractors who provided 

data for the survey.

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Contents

Introduction ...............................................................................................

Scope of survey..................................................................................

Survey methods ..............................................................................

Nature of industry ...........................................................................

Highlights of findings..................................................................................

General findings ..............................................................................

Requirements by occupation and type of contractor....................

Distribution of costs ........................................................................

Regional differences ........................................................................

Labor requirements and characteristics....................................................

Onsite ........................................................................................ ... .

Employee-hours by occupation ..........................................

Employee-hours by type of contractor.................................

Employee-hour requirements by building

characteristics.....................................................................

Wages and earnings by building

characteristics.....................................................................

Cost per square foot by building

characteristics....................................................................

Offsite ...............................................................................................

Builders’ offsite employee-hours..........................................

Manufacturing employee-hours.......................................

Wholesale trade, transportation, and services employee hours 

Mining and other industries employee h o u r s.......................

Distribution of costs and w ag es.................................................................

Relative cost sh ares...........................................................................

Contractor costs ..............................................................................

Gross earnings by occupation.......................... ................................

Wages by o ccu p atio n ........................................................................

Wage share ........................................................................................

Materials, supplies, and eq u ip m en t.................................................

Comparison with other su rv ey s.................................................................

Employee-hour requirements in apartment construction, by

industry, 1 9 7 1 ..................................................................................................

Summary of apartment project characteristics, by region, 1971 ....................

Onsite employee-hour requirements per $1,000 of contract cost in apartment

construction, by occupation and region, 1971 ..........................................

Onsite employee-hour requirements per 100 square feet in apartment

construction, by occupation and region, 1971 ..........................................

Percent distribution of employee-hour requirements in apartment 

construction, by type of contractor, United States and regions,

1 9 7 1 ............................................................................................................

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Contents— Continued

Page

6. Onsite employee-hour requirements in apartment construction, by

building characteristics and region, 1971 ................................................. . . . 11

7. Onsite average hourly earnings and wages as a percent of contract cost

in apartment construction, by building characteristics and region,

1 9 7 1 ......................................................................................................................................... . . . 12

8. Cost per square foot in apartment construction, by building

characteristics and region, 1 9 7 1 ..................................................................................- . . . 15

9. Percent distribution of cost in apartment construction, by type of

contractor, United States and regions, 1 9 7 1 .............................................................. . . 16

10. Percent distribution of gross earnings in apartment construction,

by occupation, United States and regions, 1 9 7 1 ............................. . . 17

11. Cost of materials, supplies, and equipment used in apartment

construction, by product, 1 9 7 1 .......................................................... . . 19

12. Employee-hour requirements per 1,000 current dollars of contract

cost, by industry, all construction studies, 1958—73 .......................... . . 22

13. Percent distribution of onsite employee-hour requirements per 1,000

current dollars of contract cost, by occupation, all construction

studies, 1958—73 

14. Percent distribution of contract costs, all construction studies,

1958-73 

15. Percent distribution of cost of materials, supplies, and equipment

per 1,000 current dollars of contract cost, by product group,

all construction studies, 1958—73 ................................................. . . 24

Charts:

1. Multifamily housing as a percent of all private housing starts,

1956-74 

2. Employee-hour requirements per $1,000 of contract cost in apartment

construction, by industry, 1 9 7 1 ................................................................. . 5

3. Employee-hour requirements per 100 square feet of apartment

construction, by industry, 1 9 7 1 ........................................................................................................................ 5

4. Distribution of apartment construction contract costs, 1 9 7 1 ............................................................................... 6

Appendixes:

A. Survey scope and methods ........................................................................................................................................ 25

B. Forms used for data c o llec tio n ..................................................................................................................................27

C. Bibliography ............................................................................................................................................................... 71

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Chapter I.

The current program of construction labor requirements 

studies was started in 1959 when Congress recognized the 

need for information on the possible employment generating effects of various types of construction. Since then, the 

Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has conducted a series of 

studies presenting data on the total amount of employment 

and employee-hours, both onsite and offsite, per $1,000 of 

construction expenditures and, for some studies, per 100 

square feet of space.

These studies provide data by occupation which are 

important in planning for training requirements as well as in 

determining skill shortages or bottlenecks for various types 

of construction. Resurveys of a given type of construction 

over time can contribute information about cost indexes 

and about estimates of productivity changes for onsite 

construction labor. Market research analysts and companies 

manufacturing equipment and supplies are interested especially in lists of materials used for construction.

Private multifamily (apartment) building is a major 

component of construction and a prime source of employment. Jobs are created not only at the site of construction 

but also in many manufacturing, trade, transportation, 

mining, and other industries which furnish the materials 

and services for construction. The multiplier effect of jobs 

created by the respending of wages and salaries of workers 

and profits of contractors is not included in the present 

study.

The study shows (1) the amount of labor time required 

to complete an average apartment; (2) detailed characteristics by type of apartment, contractor, and occupation; (3) 

ratios per $1,000 of cost and per 100 square feet of space; 

(4) materials used by type; (5) distribution of costs; and (6) 

total labor requirements generated by the manufacture, 

sale, and delivery of these materials.

Scope of survey

The current survey was designed to measure employeehours and the value of materials required for each $1,000 

of new private multi-family housing construction in 1971. 

It was based on a sample of 89 projects of five units or 

more each in 22 Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas 

(SMSA’s) in the continental United States, stratified by 

geographic location and estimated cost of projects. These 

projects were selected from Federal Housing Administration reports, but the sample was designed to represent all 

new private, multifamily housing in structures of five units 

or more in metropolitan areas, where permits were issued

Introduction

during 1969 for 500 dwelling units or more of this type in 

metropolitan areas. BLS obtained data on onsite employeehours, materials, occupations, contractor operations, and 

other characteristics from nearly 3,000 general and special 

trade contractors who worked on sample projects. Included were commercial facilities in apartment buildings 

and enclosed parking areas. Land costs, condominiums, 

completely prefabricated projects, and structures having 

fewer than five units were excluded.

Survey methods

Labor requirements in the construction industry (onsite) 

were developed from payroll data supplied by contractors. 

Labor requirements other than for onsite construction were 

developed by translating the requirements for materials, 

equipment, and supplies produced in the various industries 

of the economy (offsite) into the labor expended to mine, 

process, transport, and distribute them. Estimates were 

derived by first classifying and aggregating material values 

by type and then deflating by an appropriate wholesale 

price index to match the base year of the input-output 

tables. These deflated values were matched with appropriate industry sectors in the input-output tables to generate 

estimates of final demand. Sector productivity factors then 

were applied to derive employee-hours by industry group. 

Further details on survey methods are given in appendix A.

Nature of industry

The industry is divided into two major segments, 

multifamily and single-family housing. These two types of 

housing, particularly apartment buildings with over three to 

five stories, often employ different construction materials 

and techniques. Also, an apartment project requires larger 

outlays of labor and capital than single-family housing, and 

the time between project inception and completion can be 

as great as 29-30 months.1 Construction time for multifamily projects in the survey averaged 57 weeks compared 

with 21 weeks for projects of the single-family type.2

From 1930 to 1960, multifamily housing averaged only 

15 percent of all private housing starts3 whereas from 1956

1 Apartment Construction News, November 1966, p. 9.

2 Labor and Material Requirements for Construction o f Private

Single-Family Houses, Bull. 1755 (Bureau of Labor Statistics,

1972), p. 5.

3 Based on Bureau of the Census and National Association of

Home Builders data appearing in Journal of Homebuilding, November 1970, p. 13.

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to 1966 it ranged from 9.1 to 33.1 percent, or an average 

annual rate of change of 13.8 percent,4 according to the 

Bureau of the Census and the National Association of 

Home Builders. The steady upward trend, which continued 

through 1973, increased at an average annual rate of change 

of 4.3 percent from 1966 to 1973 to reach 44.7 percent of 

all U.S. private housing starts in 1973 (chart 1). However, 

the trend was reversed sharply in 1974 when multifamily 

housing constituted only 33.6 percent of total private 

housing starts. This downward trend continued into the 

first quarter of 1975, when multifamily housing provided 

only 25 percent of the total on a seasonally adjusted basis.

Data on housing starts are very closely correlated with 

data on value put in place, as shown in the tabulation 

below, which contains statistics abstracted from Bureau of 

the Census reports.5

Multifamily housing as percent of—

Total private

Total value put

in place for

private housekeeping

housing starts residential housing

1960 ........................ ___ 20.6 15.2

1965 ........................ ___ 34.6 27.7

1970 ........................ ___ 43.3 39.2

1 9 7 1 ........................ ___ 43.9 36.7

1972 ........................ ___ 44.4 38.4

1973 ........................ ___ 44.7 40.7

1974 ........................ ___ 33.6 35.8

First quarter 1975

(seasonally adjusted

annual rate) .... ___ 25.0 26.2

Value put in place went from 15.2 percent of new

private housekeeping residential construction in 1960 to 

36.7 percent in 1971; the level continued to climb to 40.7 

percent in 1973. Both statistical series showed a sharp drop 

in apartment construction during 1974 which extended into 

the first quarter in 1975.

The BLS survey sample for this study covers multifamily 

structures containing five dwelling units or more in accordance with the BLS definition of that universe, which 

differs in some respects from the definition of the Bureau 

of the Census in the data shown above. However, the 

differences do not significantly affect the analysis.6

Structures containing five units or more clearly dominate the private multifamily housing industry, as shown in 

the following tabulation:

4 Ibid. Average annual rates of change are calculated by compound interest.

5 Based on data in Bureau of the Census, Construction Reports,

Series C20, and C30, up through the June 1975 issue.

6 The Bureau of the Census includes in its definition structures

containing over 10 percent of available footage as townhouses,

newly built condominiums or cooperatives, modular units, or

rowhouses; BLS does not. The units excluded by BLS, however, are

only a small percentage of total 5-or-more-unit construction. Also,

the dwelling units in this BLS study are located entirely in

metropolitan areas (SMSA’s), while some units in the census data

are located in rural areas. Since most multifamily housing is

constructed in metropolitan areas, this difference is insignificant.

Private housing units started—

In structures of 5 units or more

In a l l ------------------------------------------------

multifamily Percent of

structures Number all multi-

(thousands) (thousands) family units

1965 ............................. 509.1 422.5 83.0

1970 ............................ 620.7 535.9 86.3

1974 ............................. 449.6 381.6 84.9

First quarter 1975

(seasonally adjusted

annual rate)............ 248.0 203.0 81.9

Generally, five-or-more-unit dwellings are divided into 

two basic construction groupings: Low rise buildings of 

three stories or less, often built with wood frames and no 

elevators; and high rise buildings of four stories or more 

containing elevators and usually constructed of reinforced 

concrete or structural steel. The majority of five-or-moreunit dwellings are built in low rise buildings. In 1965, for 

example, 95 percent of new multifamily structures had 

three floors or less and contained approximately 78 percent 

of all multifamily dwelling units. The remaining 5 percent 

were high rise buildings containing 22 percent of the 

multifamily units.7 In 1971, 94 percent of five-or-moreunit buildings in the BLS survey were low rise buildings. In 

the North-east region, the only significant variation from 

the national average, only 48 percent were low rise 

buildings. The rest of the five-or-more-unit apartment 

buildings were high rise buildings, confirming the 1965 data 

that high rises in the Northeast contained approximately 40 

percent of the dwelling units.

The average dwelling unit in all multifamily structures, 

which contained 861 square feet in 1960, increased to 

1,100 square feet by December 1971.8 This upward trend 

is evident in the present study which shows an average 

dwelling unit of 979 square feet in 1971. Also, in 1965, 

about 92 percent of multifamily housing was constructed in 

metropolitan areas (SMSA’s),9 in contrast to the 69 percent 

of all private housing (including single-family) started in 

metropolitan areas in 1965. In 1971, 1973, and 1974, the 

figures for all private housing were 73, 73, and 69 

percent,10 respectively.

The steady growth in demand for multifamily dwellings 

during the last decade resulted from several concurrent 

social, technological, and economic factors, including the 

following:

1. A national trend toward fewer children per family 

and more families without children decreased the 

necessity for the larger living space of single-family 

houses;

2. New households were formed at an increasing rate as 

World War II “baby boom” children grew up;

1 Apartment Construction News, July 1966, p. 33.

8Apartment Construction News, December 1971, p. 4.

9Apartment Construction News, July 1966, p. 33.

1 0Housing Starts, Series C20 (Bureau of the Census, April 1975),

P -4 .

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Chart 1

Percent

. . . . . .!

40

aft-'.'

20

uctures w ith 5 or more units

1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974

Multifamily Housing as a Percent of All Private Housing Starts, 1956-74

Note: Data for structures with 5 or more units not available

separately before 1964.

Sou rce: Bureau of the Census.

3. Land scarcity and rising taxation encouraged more 

efficient land use;

4. A rise in construction costs of about 10 percent a 

year11 emphasized the need for the economies of 

material and labor that multifamily housing could 

effect;

5. The relaxation of antiquated zoning laws enabled 

progressive developments such as the “Planned Unit 

Development” (PUD) to be built;

6. The advent of total community planning, especially 

PUD, made possible the incorporation of both single 

and multifamily dwellings in one community;

7. Increased geographical and job mobility made apartment living, with its ease of moving, more desirable;

8. More women worked and had less time to spend on 

home management and upkeep;

9. Apartment living as a life style gained greater social 

acceptance.

The multifamily housing industry during the past decade 

generally has followed traditional construction practices: 

Wood frame for low rise buildings, and reinforced concrete 

or structural steel for high rise. Modular unit construction 

techniques made some headway between 1969 and 1973, 

but they have tapered off since that time. More successful

11 Apartment Construction News, May 1974, p. 5.

has been the modification of industrialized system construction where component parts such as wall panels, 

bathroom modules, and floor slabs are prefabricated and 

then erected at the construction site. The development of 

new products for the apartment construction industry has 

been slow, but the steadily spiraling cost of lumber has 

resulted in greater use of concrete and metals such as steel 

and aluminum for framing in low rise structures.

The construction industry as a whole is composed of a 

multiplicity of small firms. The same is true of the housing 

construction segment of the industry as well. In 1972, 

86,749 establishments employed 460,155 workers and had 

receipts of more than S21.3 million.12 Of these firms, 

7,965 were primarily engaged in building multifamily 

dwellings; they had receipts of over $6.3 million and 

employed over 112,000 workers.

Multifamily housing construction is expected to expand 

in the foreseeable future and should continue to be studied 

for a better understanding of its growing role in the 

economy.

121972 Census o f Construction Industries, Preliminary Reports

CC72(P)—1 and CC72(P)—2 (Bureau of the Census, January and

March 1974), pp. 1—4.

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Chapter II. Highlights of Findings

General findings

Private multifamily housing construction required 50 

employee-hours of onsite labor for each $1,000 expended 

in 1971, according to the survey. This compares with 

estimates from other studies of 49 employee-hours for 

single-family housing and 65 for public housing.13 Thus, 

multifamily housing construction requires about the same 

number of employee-hours for a given amount of expenditure as single-family housing; public housing calls for the 

greatest number of employee-hours.

A total of 126 employee-hours of labor was generated in 

all sectors of the economy for each $1,000 of construction 

cost for multifamily housing in 1971, as shown in table 1. 

(Also see charts 2 and 3.) Of this amount, 50 employeehours were expended at the construction site and another 8 

employee-hours of offsite labor were expended in contractors’ warehouses and offices,14 for a total of 58 direct 

construction employee-hours.

In addition to he 58 employee-hours of direct labor 

requirements generated in the construction industry, 68 

employee-hours per $1,000 of construction cost were 

created in industries which produce, transport, and sell 

materials, equipment, and supplies used in multifamily 

housing construction. Thus, for every hour of onsite 

construction work, an additional 0.2 hour of labor was 

spent in contractors’ warehouses and offices, and 1.4 hours 

in industries other than construction.

Apartment construction in 1971 provided an estimated 

414,000 full-time jobs for construction workers and an 

additional 57,000 jobs for contractors’ offsite personnel.15

13Labor and Material Requirements for Public Housing Construction, Bull. 1821 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1974); Labor and

Material Requirements for Construction o f Private Single-family

Houses, Bull. 1755 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1972); adjusted to

reflect 1971 prices and productivity.

1 4 Offsite construction employee-hours were estimated from the

ratio of nonconstruction workers to total workers for the special

trade construction industry (SIC 17), as shown in the BLS

periodical Employment and Earnings, March 1971. The resulting

hours were adjusted to remove that portion of administrative and

clerical hours already counted as onsite.

15 These estimates are stated as full-time job equivalents since, in

actual practice, more workers could be employed than indicated

because of the seasonal nature of construction employment. Jobs

created by the respending of wages and salaries of workers and

profits of contractors (the rippling or multiplier effect) are beyond

the scope of the present work.

Table 1. Employee-hour requirements in apartment

construction, by industry, 1971

Industry

Per $1,000

of contract

cost

Per 100

square feet

Percent

distribution1

All industries ................... 126 164 100.0

Construction ............................ 58 75 46.0

O n s ite ................................... 50 65 39.7

O ffsite................................... 8 10 6.3

Other industries........................ 68 89 54.0

Manufacturing..................... 43 56 34.1

Wholesale trade, transportation, and

services............................... 15 20 11.9

Mining and all other ......... 10 13 7.9

1 D istribution is the same fo r both columns.

N O T E : Detail m ay n o t add to totals due to rounding.

Also, 437,000 jobs were generated in industries which 

provided materials used to construct multifamily units. 

Thus, for every onsite construction job, an additional 0.1 

job was spent in contractors’ warehouses and offices and 

1.1 jobs in industries other than construction.16

On average, a multifamily project took 57 weeks to 

complete. Actual construction of the sample projects took 

place in 1970 through 1972, but most were completed in 

1971. Each project in the study contained an average of 

157 dwelling units. These apartments averaged 979 square 

feet in size, cost $12,686 (excluding land) to build, and had 

two bedrooms. These averages generally varied according to 

geographic region.

Requirements by occupation and type of contractor

Carpenters, laborers, and helpers, the largest components 

of onsite labor requirements for multifamily housing, each 

made up over 25 percent of onsite requirements. The 

occupational distribution was similar to that found in 

public housing but quite different from that in single-family 

housing construction, since relatively less wood is used in 

multifamily than in single-family housing construction, proportionately fewer carpenters were employed; since much 

larger amounts of heavier materials must be moved onto

16 Due to differing assumptions for the number of employeehours per employee-year in construction and other industries,

employee-hour ratios do not apply to employee-year estimates. To

calculate employment, 1,800 hours a year were used for construction and 2,000 for all other industries.

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Chart 2.

Employee-Hour Requirements per $1,000 of Contract Cost in Apartment Construction,

by Industry, 1971

Construction

Manufacturing

Wholesale trades, transportation

and services

Mining and all other

Chart 3.

Employee-Hour Requirements Per 100 Square Feet of Apartment Construction, by Industry, 1971

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and within the site, relatively more laborers were required. 

In descending order, other important occupations for multifamily housing construction were plumbers, electricians, 

superintendents and blue-collar supervisors, bricklayers, 

painters, cement finishers and operating engineers.

The general contractor provided a little over 20 percent 

of onsite employee-hours, followed by carpentry contractors (about 13 percent), normally second in onsite 

hours in building construction. Next were concrete work, 

plumbing, and masonry contractors, each with about 9 to 

10 percent of the onsite work. Since wallboard virtually has 

replaced plaster for interior walls, wallboard contractors 

had about 8 percent of the onsite work compared with 2 

percent for plasterers, and four times the value of plastering 

contractors in contract costs.

Distribution of costs

The general contractor was paid about one-third of all 

contract costs, considerably more than his contribution in 

employee-hours. This proportion reflects the increasing 

trend for general contractors to subcontract onsite work 

and concentrate on coordinating, financing, and purchasing. 

Other important cost components by operation were

carpentry; plumbing; concrete; heating, ventilating, and 

air-conditioning; electrical; wallboard; and masonry. Of 

overall costs, onsite wages and salaries constituted almost 

30 percent, with carpenters and laborers representing nearly 

one-half of this amount (chart 4). Skilled trades made up 

about two-thirds of total onsite direct labor costs, similar to 

their proportion in private single-family and public housing 

construction.

Materials and supplies constituted over two-fifths of 

construction costs. Three major groups made up over 

one-half of the cost of all materials used in multifamily 

housing construction. Stone, clay, glass, and concrete 

products represented over one-fifth of these costs, or $105 

per $1,000 of costs. Most important within this grouping 

were ready-mix concrete, and wallboard. Lumber and wood 

products, except furniture and fixtures, were the next most 

expensive materials—$89 per $1,000 of costs. The materials 

representing the largest costs in this group were rough and 

dressed lumber, millwork, and plywood. Fabricated metal 

products, the third most important group, constituted $74 

per $1,000 of costs. Within this group, the important 

products were metal doors and windows, reinforcing bars, 

sheet metal, plumbing products, and heating equipment.

Except for construction equipment (about 3 percent of 

contract costs or about $31 per $1,000), the remaining 

costs, almost 25 percent of the total, were not collected for 

the survey but consisted of items such as supplementary 

wage benefits paid by contractors, construction financing 

costs, offsite work in offices and warehouses, other 

overhead expenses, and profit.

Regional differences

Differences in construction characteristics reflect regional conditions under which buddings are erected.1 7 For 

exam ple, in three regions, the “two-to-three-story” gardentype apartment building was the major type but in the 

Northeast the “four and over” group predominated (table 

2). Furthermore, reinforced concrete instead of wood was 

used most often in the Northeast for framing buildings. 

Probably the high population density and cost of land in 

the Northeast led to taller buildings with reinforced 

concrete and, in some cases, structural steel frames. Also, 

brick exterior siding was used for insulation and weathering 

in every region except the West, where stucco predominated due to the milder climate.

17 The study provided data for the United States and four broad

geographic regions. States in each region included: NortheastConnecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey,

New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont; North

Central-Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin;

S ou th -Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida,

Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and

West Virginia; West- Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana,

Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

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Table 2. Summary of apartment project characteristics, by region, 1971

Characteristic United States Northeast South North Central West

Most common number of stories............................ 2 to 3 4 and over 2 to 3 2 to 3 2 to 3

Average number of dwelling units per project . . . 157 240 149 163 135

Average square feet of space per dwelling

u n it.............................................................................. 979 935 946 1,039 992

Average cost per dwelling u n it................................. $ 12,686 $17,438 $11,252 $13,169 $11,484

Average cost per square f o o t................................... $12.96 $18.64 $11.89 $12.67 $11.57

Most common framing material used..................... Wood Reinforced Wood Wood Wood

Most common exterior wall material used............ Brick

concrete

Brick Brick Brick Stucco

Average hourly earnings............................................. $5.60 $6.27 $4.57 $6.32 $6.22

Wages as a percent of contract costs ..................... 27.9 30.8 27.3 28.5 25.2

The Northeast led in cost per dwelling unit and per 

square foot. These higher costs were the result of several 

factors. The buildings in this region tended to have more 

stories and generally contained elevators. Also, most of 

them had frames made of reinforced concrete as opposed to 

wood framing, used in the other regions. In addition, 

average hourly earnings of onsite workers were higher than 

in all the other regions except the North Central, and the 

proportion of contract costs allocated to wages was the 

highest. However, when measured by square footage, 

apartments in the Northeast were the smallest.

Average hourly earnings also varied according to region. 

The U.S. average of $5.60 reflected the range from $4.57 in 

the South to $6.32 in the North Central region. Wages as a

percent of contract costs varied from about 25 percent in 

the West to almost 31 percent in the Northeast. Lower 

wage rates in the South kept total wage costs low on 

projects in this area, i.e., about 27 percent of contract 

costs. On the other hand, in the West, as shown in table 2, 

only about 25 percent of contract costs went for wages, 

despite the fact that average hourly earnings ($6.22) were 

significantly higher than in the South ($4.57). A similar 

divergence was found in the Northeast. Although average 

hourly rates in the Northeast were lower than those in the 

North Central region, total wage costs as a percent of 

contract costs were higher. This anomaly in these regions 

could be due to differing rates of productivity, differences 

in relative costs of materials, and other factors.

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Chapter III. Labor Requirements and Characteristics

Onsite

Employee-hours by occupation. Data for the United 

States as a whole indicate that, of onsite employee-hours in 

apartment construction, 66 percent were worked by skilled 

tradesworkers, 28 percent by semiskilled and unskilled 

workers, and 6 percent by nonproduction employees such 

as supervisors, engineers, and clerks (table 3).

For skilled trades and semiskilled and unskilled workers, 

the proportion of employee-hours was essentially the same 

as that found in other types of residential construction, i.e.,

single-family housing, public housing, and college housing. 

However, a significantly higher proportion of onsite employee-hours in private multifamily construction was contributed by workers in nonproduction occupations, as 

shown by the following tabulation:

Nonproduction employee-hours

as percent of all onsite

employee-hours

Private multifamily housing.......... 6.0

Single-family housing...................... 2.8

College housing............................... 3.4

Public housing................................. 3.6

Table 3. Onsite employee-hour requirements per $1,000 of contract cost in apartment construction by occupation and

region, 1971

United States Northeast South North Central West

Occupation Hours

per

$ 1,000

Percent

Hours

per

$ 1,000

Percent

Hours

per

$ 1,000

Percent

Hours

per

$ 1,000

Percent

Hours

per

$ 1,000

Percent

All occupations............................................... 50.0 100.0 48.9 100.0 59.8 100.0 45.0 100.0 41.7 100.0

Professional, technical, and kindred

workers .................................................................. 2.9 5.8 2.7 5.6 3.4 5.7 2.4 5.3 2.9 7.1

Professional/technical ...................................... .2 .4 .6 1.1 .2 .3 .0 .1 .1 .3

Superintendent/supervisor............................... 2.6 5.2 1.9 3.9 3.1 5.2 2.3 5.1 2.8 6.7

Clerical w orkers.................................................. .1 .2 .2 .5 .1 .2 .1 .1 .1 .2

Skilled trades ........................................................... 33.1 66.1 33.3 68.2 34.6 57.9 32.8 72.7 30.7 73.8

Bricklayers........................................................... 2.5 5.0 3.2 6.5 3.5 5.8 2.3 5.1 .4 .9

Carpenters........................................................... 12.7 25.4 10.4 21.2 13.1 22.0 13.1 29.1 13.8 33.2

Cement finishers ............................................... 1.7 3.4 2.4 4.9 1.6 2.8 1.3 3.0 1.5 3.6

Electricians ......................................................... 2.9 5.9 3.2 6.5 2.7 4.5 3.2 7.2 2.7 6.4

Elevator constructors........................................ .2 .3 .4 .8 .1 .2 .1 .2 .0 .1

Glaziers ................................................................ .1 .1 .1 .2 .0 .0 .1 .1 .0 .1

Insulation w orkers............................................. .2 .4 .2 .4 .2 .4 .1 .3 .2 .4

Iron workers-ornamental................................. .3 .5 .3 .6 .2 .4 .3 .7 .2 .4

Iron workers-reinforced.................................... .3 .6 .4 .8 .4 .6 .2 .5 .3 .6

Iron workers-structural ................................... .6 1.2 1.9 3.9 .3 .5 .3 .8 .1 .2

Lathers.................................................................. .3 .6 .6 1.1 .1 .2 .0 .1 .6 1.4

Operating engineers........................................... 1.5 2.9 .9 1.9 1.7 2.9 1.6 3.6 1.4 3.3

Painters ................................................................ 2.0 4.0 1.7 3.5 2.9 4.8 1.3 3.0 1.8 4.3

Plasterers.............................................................. .5 1.1 .7 1.5 .5 .8 .2 .4 .9 2.2

Plumbers and pipefitters ................................. 4.7 9.4 5.8 11.7 4.4 7.3 4.9 10.9 4.1 9.7

Roofers ................................................................ .4 .7 .2 .5 .4 .7 .3 .7 .5 1.3

Sheet-metal workers........................................... 1.0 2.1 .2 .5 1.0 1.8 1.6 3.4 1.1 2.7

Soft-floor layers.................................................. .2 .5 .2 .4 .4 .7 .1 .1 .3 .7

Tile setters........................................................... .4 .7 .3 .6 .5 .8 .4 1.0 .2 .5

Other skilled trades ........................................... .6 1.3 .3 .6 .4 .8 1.1 2.5 .7 1.9

Laborers and o th e r.................................................. 14.0 28.0 12.8 26.2 21.8 36.4 9.9 22.0 8.0 19.1

Laborers, helpers, and tenders........................ 12.9 25.8 11.9 24.3 20.3 34.0 8.9 19.7 7.1 17.1

Truckdrivers......................................................... .4 .9 .4 .8 .6 1.0 .4 .9 .3 .8

Custodial workers .............................................

Other semiskilled and unskilled

.2 .5 .1 .2 .4 .6 .3 .6 .1 .3

workers.............................................................. .4 .9 .5 1.0 .5 .9 .3 .7 .4 .9

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This increase in employee-hours allotted to administrative and supervisory personnel may be due partially to the 

larger size of the average project in this survey compared to 

other types of residential construction.

Carpenters, the major skilled craft, accounted for 38 

percent of the employee-hours of all skilled workers. They 

were followed, in descending order, by plumbers, electricians, bricklayers, and painters.

The ranking of skilled trades varied within the four 

broad geographical regions. Carpenters and plumbers 

ranked first and second respectively in all regions. However, 

the relative importance of the other trades changed from 

region to region. Bricklayers were in third position in the 

Northeast and South, fourth in the North Central region, 

and below the first five in the West. Cement finishers were 

fourth in the Northeast and fifth in the West; they ranked 

below fifth in the South and North Central regions. 

Electricians ranked third in all regions except the South 

where they were fifth. Painters occupied fourth place in the 

South and West but were below the top five in the other 

regions.

In square footage, 64.8 employee-hours were required 

for each 100 square feet of space constructed (table 4). 

Employee-hours per 100 square feet ranged from about 48 

in the West to about 91 in the Northeast. Employee-hour 

requirements by occupation were the same, proportionately, for 100 square feet as for $1,000 of construction.

Apprentices made up about 8 percent of all skilled 

workers, as shown in the tabulation below. This figure 

ranged from about 5 percent in the South to nearly 12 

percent in the West. The occupations which had the largest 

relative numbers of apprentices were plumbers and pipefitters, electricians, machinists, and soft-floor layers.

Apprentices as percent

Occupa tion o f skilled workers

All apprentices........................................... 7.8

Bricklayers........................................................... 3.4

Carpenters........................................................... 7.6

Cement finishers ............................................... 2.9

Electricians ......................................................... 15.1

Elevator constructors........................................ 6.0

Insulation workers............................................. 4.8

Table 4. Onsite employee-hour requirements per 100 square feet in apartment construction, by occupation and region,

1971

United States Northeast South North Central West

Occupation Hours per

100 square

feet

Percent

Hours per

100 square

feet

Percent

Hours per

100 square

feet

Percent

Hours per

100 square

feet

Percent

Hours per

100 square

feet

Percent

All occupations........................ 64.8 100.0 91.1 100.0 71.1 100.0 57.1 100.0 48.2 100.0

Professional, technical, and

kindred workers............................ 3.8 5.8 5.1 5.6 4.1 5.7 3.0 5.3 3.4 7.1

Professional/technical .............. .3 .4 1.0 1.1 .2 .3 .1 .1 .1 .3

Superintendent/supervisors.......................................... 3.4 5.2 3.6 3.9 3.7 5.2 2.9 5.1 3.2 6.7

Clerical workers.......................... .2 .2 .4 .5 .2 .2 .1 .1 .1 .2

Skilled trades ................................... 42.9 66.1 62.2 68.2 41.1 57.9 41.5 72.7 35.6 73.8

Bricklayers................................... 3.2 5.0 6.0 6.5 4.1 5.8 2.9 5.1 .4 .9

Carpenters................................... 16.5 25.4 19.3 21.2 15.6 22.0 16.6 29.1 16.0 33.2

Cement finishers ........................ 2.2 3.4 4.4 4.9 2.0 2.8 1.7 3.0 1.7 3.6

Electricians ................................. 3.8 5.9 5.9 6.5 3.2 4.5 4.1 7.2 3.1 6.4

Elevator constructors................. .2 .3 .8 .8 .2 .2 .1 .2 .0 .1

Glaziers ........................................ .1 .1 .2 .2 .0 .0 .1 .1 .0 .1

Insulation w orkers..................... .2 .4 .4 .4 .3 .4 .2 .3 .2 .4

Iron workers-ornamental.......... .3 .5 .6 .6 .3 .4 .4 .7 .2 .4

Iron workers-reinforced............ .4 .6 .7 .8 .4 .6 .3 .5 .3 .6

Iron workers-structural ............ .7 1.2 3.5 3.9 .3 .5 .4 .8 .1 .2

Lathers........................................... .4 .6 1.0 1.1 .2 .2 .1 .1 .7 1.4

Operating engineers................... 1.9 2.9 1.7 1.9 2.1 2.9 2.0 3.6 1.6 3.3

Painters ........................................ 2.6 4.0 3.2 3.5 3.4 4.8 1.7 3.0 2.1 4.3

Plasters .......................................... .7 1.1 1.3 1.5 .5 .8 .2 .4 1.1 2.2

Plumbers and pipefitters .......... 6.1 9.4 10.7 11.7 5.1 7.3 6.2 10.9 4.7 9.7

Roofers ........................................ .5 .7 .5 .5 .5 .7 .4 .7 .6 1.3

Sheet-metal workers................... 1.3 2.1 .4 .5 1.2 1.8 2.0 3.4 1.3 2.7

Soft-floor layers.......................... .3 .5 .3 .4 .5 .7 .1 .1 .3 .7

Tile setters................................... .5 .7 .5 .6 .5 .8 .6 1.0 .3 .5

Other skilled tra d e s ................... .9 1.3 .6 .6 .4 .8 1.4 2.4 .9 1.9

Laborers and o th e r.......................... 18.2 28.0 23.9 26.2 25.9 36.4 12.5 22.0 9.2 19.1

Laborers, helpers, and

ten d ers...................................... 16.7 25.8 22.1 24.3 24.1 34.0 11.3 19.7 8.3 17.1

Truckdrivers................................. .6 .9 .7 .8 .7 1.0 .5 .9 .4 .8

Custodial workers ..................... .3 .5 .2 .2 .4 .6 .4 .6 .2 .3

Other semiskilled and

unskilled w o rkers................. .6 .9 .9 1.0 .6 .9 .4 .7 .4 .9

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Apprentices as percent

Occupation— Continued of skilled workers— Continued

Iron workers-ornamental................................. 1.5

Iron workers-reinforced................................... 2.4

Iron workers-structural .................................... 5.2

Lathers ................................................................ 2.9

Machinists........................................................... 14.2

Painters................................................................ 4.9

Plasterers............................................................. 1.8

Plumbers and pipefitters ................................. 29.2

R o ofers................................................................ 4.7

Sheet-metal workers ........................................ 9.0

Soft-floor layers.................................................. 12.5

Tilesetters ........................................................... 3.2

Employee-hours by type o f contractor. National data show 

that general contractors used 21.7 percent and carpentry 

contractors 12.8 percent of onsite construction employeehours (table 5). They were followed, in descending order, 

by contractors of plumbing, 9.0 percent; masonry, 8.8 

percent; and wallboard, 7.9 percent.

The rankings of the various contractors varied within the 

regions. The general contractor ranked first and the 

carpentry contractor second in all regions except the 

Northeast where the general contractor occupied third 

place with 11.8 percent of the onsite employee-hours. In 

that area concrete work and masonry, with 23.2 and 12.1 

percent, respectively, of the employee-hours, were in first 

and second place, and wallboard contractors, with 8.3 

percent, and plumbers, with 8.0 percent of onsite employee-hours, ranked fourth and fifth. The variation in 

contractor rankings among the regions is illustrated by the 

list below showing the contractors who ranked third in each 

region:

Region

Northeast

South

North Central

West

Type of contractor

General

Masonry

Plumbing

Plumbing

Percent of

employee-hours

11.8

11.1

10.7

13.4

Employee-hour requirements by building characteristics. 

Data on employee-hours by various building features 

indicate that in most cases employee-hour requirements 

were lowest in buildings using the most common materials 

and features. For example, wood was the most common 

framing material used, and projects with this type of 

framing had the lowest employee-hour requirements, about 

46 employee-hours per $ 1,000 of construction costs (table 

6). Similarly, poured concrete foundations, dry wall interior 

walls, concrete floor base, carpet floor covering, and 

wood/plywood roof base followed the same trend. Furthermore, the pattern was the same for items other than 

materials. That is, sample projects with individual apartment heating occurred more frequently and required fewer 

employee-hours than individual building or central project 

heating. This finding was equally true of buildings with 

forced air heating, gas fuel, individual air-conditioning, of 

two to three stories, and buildings without elevators, 

incinerators, or compactors.

Generally, the most widely used materials and building 

practices are popular because they are the most efficient or 

least expensive. However, although brick was used most 

widely for exterior walls, projects with stucco outside walls 

had the lowest employee-hour requirements. Stucco, a 

concrete siding material, is used widely in the Southwest 

and southern California.

Table 5. Percent distribution of employee-hour requirements in apartment construction, by type of contractor. United

States and regions, 1971

Contractor United States Northeast South North Central West

T o ta l........................................................................... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

General contractor ........................................................... 21.7 11.8 28.6 19.4 20.1

Grading, footings, excavation, and foundation......... 3.1 4.7 2.3 3.6 2.8

Waterproofing.................................................................... .2 .3 .2 .0 .1

Concrete work .................................................................. 9.9 23.2 6.6 4.7 9.8

Structural steel erection .................................................. .4 .7 .5 .4 .1

Carpentry ........................................................................... 12.8 5.6 12.1 16.9 16.7

Masonry .............................................................................. 8.8 12.1 11.1 7.8 1.2

Heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning................... 4.8 5.2 5.0 6.0 2.3

Plumbing.............................................................................. 9.0 8.0 6.5 10.7 13.4

Electrical.............................................................................. 6.8 7.0 5.9 7.5 7.6

Elevators.............................................................................. .6 1.7 .4 .5 .1

Insulation............................................................................ .5 .3 .5 .5 .5

W allboard............................................................................ 7.9 8.3 7.3 9.0 7.5

Plastering and lathing ...................................................... 1.8 3.4 .9 .5 4.0

Painting and paperhanging ............................................. 3.1 3.1 4.0 2.1 2.5

Hardwood flo o rin g........................................................... .3 .3 .4 .2 .0

Linoleum, vinyl tile, and carpeting............................... 1.8 .5 1.7 2.7 1.9

Ceramic tile ......................................................................... 1.0 1.4 .7 1.1 1.0

Roofing and gutter w o r k ............................................... 1.3 .6 1.4 1.5 1.8

Ornamental iron w o rk ....................................................... .5 .3 .4 .6 .6

Cleaning .............................................................................. .6 .2 .4 .3 1.7

Asphalt paving .................................................................. .9 .3 1.0 1.1 1.0

Other ................................................................................... .9 1.1 1.9 3.0 3.0

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Table 6. Onsite employee-hour requirements in apartment construction, by building characteristics and region, 1971

Characteristic

United States Northeast South North Central West

Hours

per

$1,000

of

cost

Hours

per

100

square

feet

Hours

per

$ 1,000

of

cost

Hours

per

100

square

feet

Hours

per

$ 1,000

of

cost

Hours

per

100

square

feet

Hours

per

$ 1,000

of

cost

Hours

per

100

square

feet

Hours

per

$1,000

of

cost

Hours

per

100

square

feet

All projects...................................................... 50.0 64.8 49.2 91.7 59.8 71.1 45.1 57.1 41.2 47.7

Foundation:

Concrete block.................................................... 59.9 65.4 — — 61.8 68.6 C ) C1) - -

Concrete pilings.................................................. 58.7 93.1 C1) C ) 66.5 82.6 - - - -

Poured concrete................................................. 47.7 60.2 51.4 80.3 57.2 66.3 45.8 57.7 41.6 48.3

O th e r.................................................................... 46.8 58.4 C ) C ) 51.2 61.8 C1) C ) C1) C1)

Frame:

W o o d ..................................................................... 45.6 53.8 C ) C ) 53.0 62.0 41.5 50.1 41.0 47.1

Steel....................................................................... C ) o C ) C ) 0 ) C ) - - - -

Brick .................................................................... 49.4 68.8 C ) C ) C ) C ) C ) C ) — —

Concrete block.................................................... 65.9 79.0 — — 66.4 79.4 C ) C1) C )

Reinforced concrete.......................................... 49.2 82.4 C1) C ) C ) 0 ) 49.9 67.8 C ) C )

O th e r.................................................................... 52.9 70.5 0 ) C ) C ) C ) C1) C ) - -

Exterior walls:

Brick .................................................................... 53.1 73.4 47.5 89.6 59.4 70.6 47.6 64.1 — —

W o o d .................................................................... o C )

- - - - C ) C1) (*) C )

Stucco .................................................................. 45.3 52.5 — — 69.1 83.4 — — 40.6 46.6

Aluminum siding............................................... o o (*) C ) - - - - - -

Curtain w a ll......................................................... C ) C ) (*) C ) — — C ) C ) — —

O th e r.................................................................... 42.4 46.6 — — C1) C1) 40.7 42.8 46.2 61.8

Interior walls:

Dry wall (sheetrock).......................................... 49.8 64.1 50.3 98.1 59.1 70.1 45.1 57.1 41.2 47.7

Plaster .................................................................. 52.8 78.8 C ) C1) C ) C1) - - - —

Floor base:

Concrete ............................................................. 49.1 64.0 50.6 102.3 55.8 68.5 45.7 55.2 39.8 44.2

Wood/plywood ................................................. 53.1 68.7 C ) C1) 70.0 77.1 44.2 61.7 C1) C1)

O th e r..................................................................... 44.2 53.2 C1) C1) — — 45.6 50.7 C1) C )

Floor covering:

Hardwood ........................................................... 62.7 82.6 C ) C ) 69.0 84.5 — — — —

Asphalt tile ......................................................... 50.5 84.1 47.5 107.2 60.8 67.0 C1) C1) C ) C1)

Vinyl/vinyl asbestos........................................... 52.8 66.6 C1) (*) 57.0 67.0 49.6 64.9 48.6 65.7

Carpeting............................................................. 42.8 50.3 — — 51.6 62.6 41.6 50.9 39.0 43.1

Roof base:

Concrete .............................................................. 52.2 87.7 50.2 101.6 C ) C1) 54.4 72.8 C ) C1)

Wood/plywood .................................................. 48.6 58.1 46.8 72.5 59.3 67.9 42.1 52.5 41.0 47.2

Insulating board.................................................. C1) C ) - - C ) C ) - - - -

O th e r..................................................................... C ) C ) - - C ) C ) 0 ) V ) - -

Roof covering:

Built u p ................................................................ 51.0 68.2 47.6 88.8 63.2 78.2 44.9 58.2 42.7 48.1

Asphalt shingle.................................................... 47.4 56.3 C ) C ) 55.2 60.9 43.7 52.8 ( ; ) C1)

Wood shingle...................................................... C ) (*) — — — — C1) C ) — —

O th e r..................................................................... 52.5 75.3 C ) C1) C1) C1) C1) C ) — —

Heating unit:

Central to project............................................... 54.7 80.1 47.6 88.8 64.9 80.1 52.2 68.6 0 ) C )

Individual building............................................. 47.8 59.6 — — 55.9 59.6 41.8 58.5 0 ) C )

Individual apartm ent........................................ 46.3 54.8 C1) C ) 55.3 64.3 42.3 50.3 39.7 45.6

O th e r..................................................................... C ) C ) - - C1) C1) - - C1) C1)

Type of heat:

Forced air ........................................................... 48.4 59.0 C ) C ) 58.0 71.9 43.3 50.4 39.6 47.9

Hot water or steam ........................................... 50.9 73.0 47.6 88.8 67.3 72.0 47.7 64.3 45.6 52.6

Baseboard ele ctric ............................................. 51.8 67.6 C ) C ) 53.1 64.1 C ) C ) C ) C )

Wall unit .............................................................. 53.3 55.2 — — 65.3 76.8 — — 43.7 41.2

Heating fuel:

Electricity ........................................................... 51.9 69.7 ( 1) C ) 52.8 67.8 C ) C ) C ) C1)

Gas......................................................................... 49.8 59.8 53.7 89.5 61.5 67.9 45.7 57.5 41.1 47.5

Oil ......................................................................... 50.0 92.1 45.3 90.5 (*) C1) - - - -

Air-conditioning:

Central to project............................................... 61.7 81.6 C1) C ) 64.9 80.1 C ) C ) C1)

Individual building............................................. 50.2 61.2 — — 62.1 68.2 C ) C ) C ) C )

Individual apartm ent........................................ 46.7 54.0 — — 53.3 62.5 40.5 45.7 45.8 55.4

Window units...................................................... C ) C ) — — — — 0 ) C ) — —

None ..................................................................... 46.5 63.6 46.6 91.0 56.5 65.0 49.6 62.1 40.3 46.5

I nci nerators/compactors:

Yes......................................................................... 51.8 85.2 47.2 88.2 C1) C ) 54.4 72.8 — —

N o ......................................................................... 49.2 58.5 C ) C1) 59.2 67.5 42.2 52.6 41.2 47.7

See footnotes at end of table.

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Table 6. Onsite employee-hour requirements in apartment construction, by building characteristics and region, 1971 —

Continued

United States Northeast South North Central West

Characteristic

Hours

per

$1,000

of

cost

Hours

per

100

square

feet

Hours

per

$ 1,000

of

cost

Hours

per

100

square

feet

Hours

per

$ 1,000

of

cost

Hours

per

100

square

feet

Hours

per

$ 1,000

of

cost

Hours

per

100

square

feet

Hours

per

$1,000

of

cost

Hours

per

100

square

feet

Number of stories:

1 s to ry .................................................................. C )

46.7

C )

55.9

C1)

55.5

C1)

2-3 stories ........................................................... <‘ > 64.9

48.7

o

90.0

42.2 52.6 41.0 47.2

4 stories and o ve r............................................... 55.0 83.4 67.3 82.2 54.4 72.8 ( ')

<‘ )

41.0

C)

( ‘ )

47.1

Elevators:

Yes......................................................................... 54.9 83.5 47.2 88.2 0 )

55.3

C )

64.5

53.3 71.1

N o ......................................................................... 47.3 56.6 ( ') ( ') 41.6 51.5

1 In su fficien t data. N O T E : Dash denotes th a t the survey had no sample projects in

this cell.

Most projects surveyed had poured concrete foundations, wood frames, brick exterior walls, and were two to 

three' stories high with two bedrooms per unit and no 

elevators. This pattern was largely the same in all regions 

except the Northeast. In that region, the dominant type of 

frame was reinforced concrete and most projects were four 

stories and over with elevators.

The distinctive characteristics of projects in the Northeast region were reflected in the distribution of onsite 

employee-hours by type of contractor. For example, since a 

large proportion of these projects had reinforced concrete 

frames, concrete work contractors had the greatest proportion of total onsite employee-hours. Of course, the predominance of reinforced concrete frames was a direct result 

of the generally taller buildings in the Northeast.

Wages and earnings by building characteristics. Of the 

surveyed housing, the average project had 157 dwelling 

units with 979 square feet per dwelling unit. Each unit cost 

$12,686. In the Northeast, building characteristics differed 

sharply from those of the other regions. Projects in the 

Northeast had the largest number of dwelling units, 240, 

compared with the South, 149; the North Central region, 

163; and the West, 135. However, units in the Northeast 

were smaller, 935 square feet, and cost more, $17,438, as 

shown in table 2.

Despite smaller average units in the Northeast, construction costs per unit were the highest because onsite 

employee-hours per 100 square feet were the highest (table 

6), onsite average hourly earnings were second highest 

(table 7), and, because of the taller buildings of that region, 

over two-thirds of the projects had elevators.

There was not a perfect correlation between the proportion of total construction cost that was accounted for by 

wages, and average onsite hourly earnings, degree of 

unionization, or onsite labor hours per $1,000 of construction contract. However, there tended to be a close 

relationship among these variables, on a regional basis. The 

tabulation below provides some indication of these interrelations:

Union contracts Onsite

Onsite

average

as a percent of employee-h ours hourly

total contracts per $1,000 earnings

United States . 64.2 50.0 $5.60

Northeast ................. 89.8 49.2 6.27

South ........................ 25.1 59.8 4.57

North C e n tral......... 82.6 45.1 6.32

West .......................... 90.8 41.2 6.22

If one considers the ranking of each region in regard to the 

three variables listed, the interaction of these factors

Table 7. Onsite average hourly earnings and wages as a percent of contract cost in apartment construction, by building

characteristics and region, 1971

Characteristic

United States Northeast South North Central West

Average

hourly

earnings

Wages as

percent of

contract

Average

hourly

earnings

Wages as

percent of

contract

Average

hourly

earnings

Wages as

percent of

contract

Average

hourly

earnings

Wages as

percent of

contract

Average

hourly

earnings

Wages as

percent of

contract

All projects............................... $5.60 27.9 $6.27 30.8 $4.57 27.3 $6.32 28.5 $6.22 25.2

Foundation:

Concrete block............................ 4.71 28.2 — — 4.62 28.6 o C1) — —

Concrete pilings.......................... 5.18 30.4 ( ’ ) ( ’ ) 4.90 32.6 — —

Poured concrete.......................... 5.87 28.0 6.33 32.5 4.11 23.5 6.37 29.2 6.20 25.8

O th e r............................................. 5.33 25.0 ( ') C1) 4.64 23.7 C ) C1) (*) C )

Frame:

W o o d ............................................. 5.46 24.9 ( ') C1) 4.21 22.3 6.50 27.0 6.23 25.5

Steel............................................... O C ) ( ') C ) C ) 0 )

- - - -

See footnotes at end of table.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Table 7. Onsite average hourly earnings and wages as a percent of contract cost in apartment construction, by building

characteristics and region, 1971—Continued

Un ited States Northeast South North Central West

Characteristic Average

hourly

earnings

Wages as

percent of

contract

Average

hourly

earnings

Wages as

percent of

contract

Average

hourly

earnings

Wages as

percent of

contract

Average

hourly

earnings

Wages as

percent of

contract

Average

hourly

earnings

Wages as

percent of

contract

Brick ............................................. 5.84 28.9 <‘ > C1) C ) C ) C1) C ) _ _

Concrete block............................ 4.81 31.7 — — 4.76 31.6 C ) C ) C1) C )

Reinforced concrete................... 6.12 30.1 C ) C1) C1) C1) 6.10 30.4 C ) C )

O th e r............................................. 5.92 31.3 C ) C ) C ) C1) O C1) - -

Exterior walls:

Brick ............................................. 5.35 28.4 6.30 29.9 4.48 26.6 6.32 30.1 — —

W o o d ............................................. o (*) - - - - C1) C1) C1) C )

Stucco .......................................... 5.99 27.2 — — 5.24 36.2 — — 6.25 25.3

Aluminum siding........................ 5.63 45.1 C ) (*) - - - - - -

Curtain w a ll................................. o ( ’ ) C ) (*) — — C ) C ) — —

O th e r............................................. 5.97 25.3 — — (>) 0 ) 6.44 26.2 5.96 27.5

Interior walls:

Drywall (sheetrock)................... 5.54 27.6 6.09 30.6 4.52 26.7 6.32 28.5 6.22 25.7

Plaster ........................................... 6.41 33.8 C ) C ) C ) C1) - - - -

Floor base:

Concrete ...................................... 5.58 27.4 6.26 31.7 4.66 26.0 6.25 28.6 6.12 24.4

Wood/plywood .......................... 5.52 29.3 C ) (*) 4.39 30.8 6.32 27.9 C1) C )

O th e r............................................. 6.43 28.4 C ) ( ! ) - - 6.64 30.3 C ) ( ! )

Floor covering:

Hardwood .................................... 5.18 32.5 C ) ( ’ ) 4.80 33.1 — — — —

Asphalt tile ................................. 5.85 29.5 6.34 30.1 4.44 27.0 C1) 0 ) 0 ) C1)

Vinyl/vinyl asbestos................... 5.50 29.0 6.33 33.4 4.54 25.9 6.16 30.6 6.41 31.2

Carpeting...................................... 5.78 24.7 - - 4.30 22.2 6.42 26.7 6.11 23.8

Roof base:

Concrete ...................................... 6.07 31.7 6.28 31.5 C1) C1) 6.00 32.6 C1) C1)

Wood/plywood .......................... 5.47 26.6 6.23 29.1 4.45 26.4 6.43 27.1 6.22 25.5

Insulating board.......................... C ) C ) — - 0 ) C1) - - - -

O th e r............................................. C ) C ) - - C ) C1) o 0 ) - -

Roof covering:

Built u p ........................................ 5.66 28.9 6.32 30.1 4.77 30.2 6.23 28.0 6.19 26.4

Asphalt shingle............................ 5.34 25.3 (*) (*) 4.14 22.9 6.43 28.1 C ) C )

Wood shingle............................... (*) C1) — — — — C1) C1) — —

O th e r............................................. 5.99 31.4 (*) C ) C ) C1) C ) C1) - -

Heating unit:

Central to project........................ 5.60 30.6 6.32 30.1 4.74 30.8 6.12 31.9 C ) C1)

Individual building..................... 5.21 24.9 - - 3.49 19.5 6.30 26.3 C ) C1)

Individual apartm ent................. 5.66 26.2 C ) (*) 4.53 25.0 6.48 27.4 6.27 24.9

O th e r............................................. C ) C ) - - (*) C1) - - C1) C1)

Type of heat:

Forced air .................................... 5.36 26.0 C ) C ) 4.36 25.3 6.52 28.2 6.28 24.9

Hot water or steam ................... 5.88 29.9 6.32 30.1 4.63 31.1 6.19 29.5 6.12 27.9

Baseboard electric ..................... 5.44 28.2 C ) C ) 5.08 27.0 C ) C ) C ) C )

Wall unit ...................................... 5.50 29.3 — — 4.98 32.5 — — 6.12 26.8

Heating fuel:

Electricity ................................... 5.33 27.6 C ) C ) 5.00 26.4 0) C1) (*) C1)

Gas.................................................. 5.54 27.5 5.99 32.2 4.32 26.5 6.33 28.9 6.23 25.6

Oil .................................................. 6.00 30.0 6.45 29.2 C ) C ) — — — —

Air-conditioning:

Central to project........................ 5.09 31.4 C ) C1) 4.74 30.8 C ) C1) C ) C1)

Individual building..................... 5.41 27.1 — — 3.58 22.2 6.30 29.9 C ) C1)

Individual apartm ent................. 5.47 25.5 — — 4.49 23.9 6.48 26.2 6.19 28.4

Window u nits............................... C1) C ) — — — — C1) C1) — —

None .............................................

Incinerators/compactors:

6.00 27.9 6.36 29.6 4.59 25.9 6.28 31.2 6.28 25.3

Y es.................................................. 5.94 30.8 6.34 29.9 (*) O 6.00 32.6 — —

N o .................................................. 5.44 26.8 C ) C ) 4.47 26.5 6.45 27.2 6.22 25.7

Number of stories:

1 s to ry ........................................... (*) C1) - - C ) C1) - - - -

2-3 stories .................................... 5.52 25.8 C ) C ) 4.41 24.5 6.45 27.2 6.22 25.5

4 stories and o ve r........................ 5.77 31.7 6.31 30.7 4.92 33.1 6.00 32.6 C ) C1)

Elevators:

Y es.................................................. 5.82 32.0 6.34 29.9 C ) O 6.04 32.2 C ) C )

N o .................................................. 5.45 25.8 C ) C1) 4.35 24.0 6.47 26.9 6.22 25.5

In su fficien t data. N O T E : Dashes denote th a t there were no survey projects in this

cell.

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becomes evident. The South shows the classic relationship 

among the three series, e.g., the smallest amount of 

unionization, the greatest amount of onsite employee-hours 

per $1,000, and the lowest average hourly earnings. On the 

other hand, in the West the interaction of these three 

variables is somewhat more subtle. The West led in the 

degree of unionization, which would tend to raise the 

hourly wage rate. The reaction to this apparently was a 

more efficient use of labor; the West had the lowest number 

of onsite employee-hours per $1,000 and the second lowest 

onsite average hourly earnings. Lower hourly earnings are 

largely the result of a smaller percentage of total onsite 

labor hours being paid at overtime rates. Similar generalizations can be made about the other two regions. Obviously, 

there are extraneous factors which this survey was not able 

to measure.

Cost per square foot by building characteristics. Cost per 

square foot by characteristics of buildings, shown in table 

8, exhibited the same trend as employee-hour requirements. 

That is, the more common a given characteristic, the more 

likely it was to have the lowest cost per square foot. 

Although this pattern was true less frequently than for 

employee-hours, nevertheless it was predominant in all 

regions. Wood frame buildings, for example, cost the least 

per square foot and wood was the most frequently used 

framing material for apartment construction. Exceptions 

were in foundations, exterior walls, floor base, and roof 

covering.

Offsite

Offsite employee-hours represent the builder’s administrative office and warehousing activities, and the labor to 

produce and distribute the materials, supplies, and equipment required at the construction site. Major categories 

involved are: (1) Offsite construction, (2) manufacturing, 

(3) wholesale trade, transportation, and services, and (4) 

other industries either directly or indirectly involved in the 

production and distribution process.

For every hour of work performed at the construction 

site, an additional 1.5 employee-hours of effort were 

required to produce these materials, supplies, and services 

(including offsite construction). These expenditures 

amounted to 76 employee-hours for each $1,000 of 

construction.18

Builders' offsite employee-hours. Eight employee-hours per 

$1,000 of construction were expended in this category, 

which includes contractors’ administrative, coordinating, 

estimating, scheduling, engineering, maintenance, and warehousing activities. Construction offsite hours, a relatively 

small portion of employee-hour requirements, constituted 6 1

1 8 Retail trade is excluded from this estimate because purchased

transactions for materials are assumed to be made at the wholesale

level only. Some retail transactions are made, but the extent of such

purchases in construction is not known.

percent of the total. This is inherent in an industry where 

an average of 31 subcontracts is involved in each project. 

The general contractor often limits his major responsibilities to overall coordination, scheduling, control, and supervision of construction.

Manufacturing employee-hours. The manufacturing sector 

was by far the largest and most important contributor of 

offsite employee-hours because of the materials, supplies, 

and equipment required for construction. Involved were 59 

major industrial producer groups, requiring 43 employeehours per $1,000 of construction or 63 percent of all 

offsite employee-hours, excluding offsite builder activities. 

Four major groups made up 50 percent of all manufacturing employee-hours: (1) Logging, sawmills, and planing 

mills; (2) millwork and plywood; (3) cement, clay, and 

concrete products; and (4) fabricated structural metal.

Wholesale trade, transportation, and service employee-hours.

Fifteen employee-hours per $1,000 of construction were required to produce the items from this sector of the economy. 

Wholesale trade and transportation contributed 80 percent 

of this amount.

Mining and other industries employee-hours. This group included agriculture, maintenance, construction, communications, utilities, finance, insurance, real estate, and government enterprises. Ten employee-hours per $1,000 of construction were generated in these sectors.

This initial study of multifamily housing construction 

did not permit comparison of changes in cost relationships 

from previous years in this segment of residential construction. However, comparisons can be made with studies of 

other types of residential construction. Analysis of the bill 

of materials for a study of public housing construction for 

1968, for example, indicated the same pattern of expenditures for each major materials group. The stone, clay, glass, 

and concrete products group made up over 25 percent of 

the cost of materials and equipment; lumber and wood 

products represented another 14 percent. These two categories of construction, i.e., multifamily and public housing, 

were similar in type of construction but building characteristics varied in many respects.

In a 1969 survey of single-family housing construction, 

the three most important categories of material expenditures, making up about 72 percent of total materials and 

equipment costs, were lumber and wood products; stone, 

clay, glass, and concrete products; and fabricated metal 

products. Disbursements for these three types of expenditures in multifamily housing construction were considerably more and their relative importance was quite 

different. For single-family housing, lumber and wood 

products required the greatest expenditure per $1,000 of 

construction and constituted 37 percent of all materials and 

equipment costs. Stone, clay, glass, and concrete products, 

which were second, made up 21 percent of the cost. These 

results were expected because of differences in the type of 

construction and building characteristics.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Table 8. Cost per square foot in apartment construction, by building characteristics and region, 1971

Characteristic United States Northeast South North Central West

All projects............................................................. $12.96 $18.64 $11.89 $12.67 $11.57

Foundation:

Concrete b lo ck............................................................. 10.92 _ 11.10

Concrete pilings........................................................... 15.86 C1) 12.43

V /

_

Poured concrete........................................................... 12.63 15.61 11.58 12.60 11.61

O th e r.............................................................................. 12.47 C1) 12.08 (*) C )

Frame:

W o o d .............................................................................. 11.80 C1) 11.70 12.07 11.49

Steel................................................................................ C ) (*) (*) - —

Brick .............................................................................. 13.93 C ) C ) C1) —

Concrete block............................................................. 12.00 — 11.95 C1) (*)

Reinforced concrete.................................................... 16.75 C ) C ) 13.58 C )

O th e r.............................................................................. 13.32 C ) C ) C1)

Exterior walls:

Brick .............................................................................. 13.83 18.87 11.87 13.47 —

W o o d .............................................................................. C1) - — C ) C )

Stucco .................................................... ..................... 11.59 — 12.08 — 11.50

Aluminum siding......................................................... - C ) - — —

Curtain w a ll.................................................................. 0 ) C ) — C ) —

O th e r.............................................................................. 10.98 — C ) 10.52 13.37

Interior walls:

Drywall (sheetrock).................................................... 12.85 19.50 11.86 12.67 11.57

Plaster ........................................................................... 14.93 C ) (*) — —

Floor base:

Concrete ....................................................................... 13.04 20.22 12.28 12.08 11.08

Wood/plywood ........................................................... 12.94 C ) 11.01 13.98 C1)

O th e r...................................................... ....................... 12.04 C ) — 11.13 C1)

Floor covering:

Hardwood .................................................................... 13.18 C ) 12.25 — —

Asphalt tile .................................................................. 16.67 22.58 11.01 C ) C )

Vinyl /vinyl asbestos.................................................... 12.63 13.79 11.75 13.08 13.51

Carpeting....................................................................... 11.76 — 12.11 12.24 11.05

Roof base:

Concrete ....................................................................... 16.81 20.27 C ) 13.38 C )

Wood/plywood ........................................................... 11.97 15.50 11.44 12.45 11.50

Insulating board........................................................... ( ‘ ) -

( ’ ) — —

O th e r.................................................... ......................... C1) - C1) C1) -

Roof covering:

Built u p ......................................................................... 13.36 18.65 12.36 12.95 11.26

Asphalt shingle.............................................................. 11.89 ( ') 11.02 12.06 ( ’ )

Wood shingle................................................................ ( ‘ ) — — C1) —

O th e r.............................................................................. 14.35 C ) ( ‘ ) C ) —

Heating unit:

Central to project......................................................... 14.65 18.65 12.33 13.14 C )

Individual building....................................................... 12.46 — 10.68 13.98 C )

Individual apartm ent.................................................. 11.85 C1) 11.64 11.89 11.49

O th e r.............................................................................. C ) - C1) — C1)

Type of heat:

Forced air ..................................................................... 12.19 C1) 12.40 11.63 12.08

Hot water or steam .................................................... 14.34 18.65 10.70 13.50 11.54

Baseboard electric ....................................................... 13.04 C ) 12.07 0 ) C )

Wall unit ....................................................................... 10.34 11.76 9.43

Heating fuel:

Electricity ..................................................................... 13.43 C ) 12.84 C ) C )

Gas................................................................................... 12.02 16.66 11.05 12.59 11.54

Oil ................................................................................... 18.44 20.00 C ) — —

Air-conditioning:

Central to project......................................................... 13.22 — 12.33 C ) C )

Individual building....................................................... 12.20 - 10.99 13.34 C )

Individual apartm ent.................................................. 11.57 — 11.72 11.28 12.10

Window u nits................................................................ (*) — — C ) —

None .............................................................................. 13.68 19.53 11.51 12.51 11.55

I ncinerators/compactors:

Yes................................................................................... 16.45 18.67 C ) 13.38 —

N o ................................................................................... 11.89 C ) 11.40 12.47 11.57

Number of stories:

1 s to ry ........................................................................... C1) - C ) - -

2-3 stories .................................................................... 11.96 C1) 11.70 12.47 11.50

4 stories and o v e r......................................................... 15.16 18.47 12.21 13.38 C )

Elevators:

Yes................................................................................... 15.21 18.67 C1) 13.36 C )

N o ................................................................................... 11.97 C ) 11.68 12.40 11.50

1 In su fficien t data. N O T E : Dash deinotes th a t the survey had no sample projects in

thisoell.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Chapter IV. Distribution of Costs and Wages

Relative cost shares

Onsite wages made up 28 percent of the total construction cost, as shown in the distribution of construction 

contract value below:

United North­ North

States east South Central West

(percent)

Total costs ......... . 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Onsite wages and

salaries ....................... 27.9 30.8 28.5 27.3 25.2

Materials and supplies . 44.2 37.6 46.8 46.5 43.7

Equipment ................... 3.0 2.5 2.6 3.5 3.4

Overhead and profit . . 24.8 29.1 22.1 22.7 27.7

The largest share of these costs, 44 percent, went for 

materials and supplies. Equipment used to construct the 

projects made up another 3 percent of cost. The remaining 

25 percent covered builders’ and contractors’ overhead 

costs19 and profit.

Contractor costs

The distribution of construction contract value by 

contractor as shown in table 9 looks quite different from 

the employee-hour distribution discussed earlier. General 

contractors, for example, made up just under 32 percent of 

the total contract value but only about 22 percent of onsite 

employee-hours for the United States as a whole. On the 

other hand, carpenters provided nearly 13 percent of the 

employee-hours but received less than 10 percent of the 

contract value. This discrepancy is explained in part by the 

significant amount of overhead which the general contractor assumes on any project. Other contractors, accounting for a significant but decreasing proportion of 

contract value, were plumbing; concrete; heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning; electrical; wallboard; and 

masonry.

All the regions displayed the same general contract value 

pattern. However, a different mix of buildings in the four 

regions resulted in a considerable range in the contract 

value accounted for by some types of contractors. For 

example, concrete work received about 9 percent of the 

contract value for the United States as a whole, but by 1

1 9 Overhead costs include salaries of offsite workers, supplemental

benefits, interest expense, other overhead, and miscellaneous expenses.

Table 9. Percent distribution of contract cost in apartment construction, by type of contractor. United States

and regions, 1971

Contractor United

States

Northeast

South North

Central West

T o ta l........................ 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

General contractor 31.9 21.9 40.0 31.5 29.1

Grading, footings, excavation, and foundation ............................... 3.0 4.6 3.0 2.8 1.7

Waterproofing................. .1 .1 .1 .0 .0

Concrete work .............. 8.8 18.2 5.4 4.6 10.5

Structural steel

erection........................ .7 2.5 .3 .4 .1

Carpentry ........................ 9.9 5.3 7.4 13.2 14.3

Masonry .......................... 5.3 8.7 6.9 4.0 .8

Heating, ventilation, and

air-conditioning.......... 6.2 5.9 7.3 7.1 3.5

Plumbing.......................... 9.0 8.9 6.2 10.5 11.8

Electrical.......................... 5.9 6.5 5.4 6.0 6.1

Elevators.......................... .8 2.3 .5 .7 .0

Insulation........................ .5 .1 .7 .5 .5

W allboard........................ 5.9 5.9 5.2 6.9 5.8

Plastering and lathing . . 1.3 2.0 .5 .2 3.3

Painting and paperhanging ........................ *2.0 1.8 3.0 1.1 1.5

Hardwood flooring .3 .7 .4 .1 .0

Linoleum, vinyl tile, and

carpeting ..................... 2.3 .8 2.0 3.2 3.1

Ceramic tile ..................... .8 1.0 .7 .8 .8;

Roofing and gutter

work ............................ 1.2 .7 1.4 1.3 1.4

Ornamental iron work . . .8 .6 .7 1.0 1.1

Cleaning .......................... .1 .0 .1 .0 .5

Asphalt paving .............. 1.2 .3 1.3 1.6 1.1

Other ............................... 2.0 1.2 1.5 2.5 3.0

N O T E : D etail m ay n o t add to totals due to rounding.

region the proportion ranged from about 5 percent in the 

South, where few high rise buildings were constructed, to 

over 18 percent in the Northeast, where several such large 

buildings were erected. The proportion of contract value 

going for carpentry did not have as wide a range but was 

considerably higher in the North Central region and the 

West where wood was used more in apartment buildings. 

The masonry contractors’ share dropped off considerably in 

the West where wood is used primarily for framing and 

stucco is used for building exteriors.

The general contractor provided the major portion of 

the total cost for materials, equipment, and supplies; onsite 

labor; and administrative costs in all regions. Only in the 

Northeast was the concrete contractor the leading subcontractor in value of contract. This was a direct result of 

the structural characteristics of the nine sample projects in

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that region. For example, seven projects had poured 

concrete foundations, three had reinforced concrete frames, 

five had a concrete floor base, and four had concrete roof 

bases. The carpentry contractor was the leading subcontractor in the other regions. Table 9 provides a percent 

distribution of contract value by type of contractor, 

nationally and for the four regions.

Gross earnings by occupation

The percent distribution of gross wages by occupation 

(table 10) presents a different pattern from the distribution 

of employee-hours shown in table 4. Although skilled 

trades provided about 66 percent of U.S. total onsite hours,

Table 10. Percent distribution of gross earnings in apartment construction, by occupation, United States and

regions, 1971

Occupation United

States

Northeast

South North

Central West

All occupations . . . 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Professional, technical,

and kindred workers . 7.7 7.4 7.7 7.2 8.9

Professional/technical ........................ .4 1.1 .3 .1 .3

Superintendents/

blue-collar supervisors ........................ 7.2 6.0 7.2 7.0 8.5

Clerical workers .2 .3 .2 .1 .1

Skilled trades ................. 71.6 71.2 65.3 75.9 76.6

Bricklayers................. 5.5 6.8 7.5 5.4 .8

Carpenters................. 27.0 21.8 23.8 30.1 33.9

Cement finishers . . . 3.6 5.2 3.0 3.1 3.4

Electricians .............. 6.6 6.8 5.5 7.9 6.8

Elevator constructors ................. .4 .9 .3 .2 .1

Insulation workers . . .4 .5 .4 .3 .4

Iron workersornam ental............ .6 .8 .5 .8 .4

Iron workersreinforced.............. .7 1.0 .8 .5 .7

Iron workersstructural .............. 1.4 4.3 .6 .8 .2

Lathers........................ .6 1.2 .3 .1 1.4

Operating engineers . 3.1 2.1 3.0 3.6 3.5

Painters ..................... 4.1 3.2 5.3 3.0 4.5

Plasterers................... 1.3 1.7 1.1 .4 2.2

Plumbers and pipefitters ..................... 10.6 12.3 8.4 11.6 11.1

Roofers ..................... .8 .5 .7 .7 1.3

Sheet-metal workers . 2.2 .4 1.9 3.7 2.8

Soft-floor layers .5 .4 .7 .1 .7

Tile setters................. .8 .6 .8 1.0 .5

Other skilled

workers................... 1.4 .8 .8 2.3 1.9

Laborers and others . . . 20.7 21.4 27.0 16.9 14.5

Laborers, helpers,

and tenders............ 19.0 19.8 25.2 15.4 12.8

Truckdrivers.............. .7 .7 .7 .7 .7

Custodial workers . . .2 .1 .4 .3 .2

Other semiskilled and

unskilled workers . .7 .8

____{L .5 .7

their proportion of earnings was higher, almost 72 percent. 

Conversely, laborers and other semiskilled and unskilled 

occupations contributed 28 percent of onsite employeehours; but their proportion of total pay was only 21 

percent.

Although carpenters ranked second after laborers and 

helpers in employee-hours, they were well above in gross 

earnings. These two groups received 46 percent of all wages 

paid in apartment construction. In descending order of 

total wages received, other important occupations were 

plumbers and pipefitters, superintendents and blue-collar 

supervisors, electricians, bricklayers, painters, cement finishers, and operating engineers.

All regions tended to follow a similar pattern. Carpenters 

receive the largest proportion of any occupation in each 

region except the South. Onsite wages received by carpenters ranged from just under 22 percent in the Northeast 

to almost 34 percent in the West because of the greater 

amount of wood used in that region. The proportion of 

wages paid to laborers and helpers ranged from about 13 

percent of the total in the West to over 25 percent in the 

South.

Wages by occupation

Straight-time average hourly rates (unweighted) in this 

study generally were lower than average union hourly wage 

rates in the building trades as of July 1, 1970.20 Exceptions are shown in the following tabulation:

A verage hourly

earnings

Occupation from study Union wage rate

All occupations................... $5.56 $6.18

Glaziers........................................... 6.25

Paperhangers................................. 6.30

Plasterers........................................ 6.57

Terrazzo workers ........................ 6.66

6.08

6.02

6.35

6.46

N O T E : These unweighted wage rates are not com parable to the

regional wage rates listed later.

The following tabulation shows the average hourly 

earnings developed by the study and the union wage rates 

for the four broad regions:

A verage hourly

earnings

Region from study Union wage rate

United States ..................... $5.60 $6.18

Northeast ...................................... 6.27 6.41

South ............................................. 4.57 5.21

North Central ............................... 6.32 6.38

West ............................................... 6.22 5.86

The two rates differ the most in the South where 

earnings in this study were $4.57 compared with $5.21 for 

the union rate. Only 25.1 percent of the contracts in the

20 See Union Wages and Hours: Building Trades, July 1, 1970,

Bull. 1709 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1971).

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study for the South were with unionized contractors 

compared with 90.8 percent for the West. The union wage 

rate exceeds the study’s average earnings rate in all regions 

except the West. The higher earnings rate in the West is 

largely a reflection of the fact that a higher percentage of 

the onsite employee-hours were provided by skilled trades,

i.e., 73.8 percent compared to the national average of 66.1 

percent. The North Central region also employed a high 

proportion of skilled workers, 72.7 percent, and hourly 

earnings almost equaled the union rate.

Other factors that may account for some of the disparity 

between these two series are (a) the inclusion of overtime in 

the study’s data (b) the exclusion of Alaska from the area 

covered by the survey.

Wage share

Onsite wages as a percent of total cost for the projects 

studied ranged from under 20.0 to over 40.1 percent. 

Although distributed fairly evenly over the range up to 32.5 

percent, the proportion of projects dropped significantly 

for wage costs above this level, as shown in the following 

tabulation. The median class was 25.1 to 27.5 percent of 

contract cost.

Onsite employee-hours

per $1,000

Region of contract cost

United States .................................................... 50.0

West....................................................................... 41.2

North Central...................................................... 45.1

Northeast............................................................. 49.2

South .................................................................. 59.8

The West ranks first in both tabulations; that is, it had 

the lowest expenditure of employee-hours per $1,000 of 

contract cost and the lowest proportion of the cost allotted 

for onsite wages. However, the position of the South in the 

two distributions, at first, appears contradictory. That is, 

the South had the highest expenditure of employee-hours 

per $1,000 of total contract cost and the second lowest 

expenditure for onsite wages as a percent of total cost. This 

situation is the result of the South having the lowest 

average hourly earnings, $4.57.

Materials, supplies, and equipment.

Onsite wages as a

percent of

contract cost

Percent of

projects studied

Under 2 0 . 0 ................................................................ 13.5

2 0 .1 - 22.5 .............................................................. 12.4

2 2 .6 - 25.0 .............................................................. 14.6

2 5 .1 - 27.5 .............................................................. 13.5

2 7 .6 - 30.0 .............................................................. 12.4

3 0 .1 - 32.5 .............................................................. 14.6

3 2 .6 - 35.0 .............................................................. 7.9

3 5 .1 - 37.5 .............................................................. 3.4

3 7 .6 - 40.0 ............................................................. 2.2

40.1 and over ........................................................... 5.6

The following tabulations array the regions in ascending 

order with regard to: (a) percent of total contract cost 

represented by onsite wages and (b) number of onsite 

employee-hours per $1,000 of total contract cost.

Onsite wages as a

percent of

Region contract cost

United States

West ............

South .........

North Central

Northeast . .

27.9

25.2

27.3

28.5

30.8

Materials, supplies, and equipment costs for multifamily 

housing construction amounted to $476 per $1,000 of 

construction costs, or $617 per 100 square feet (table 11). 

Of this amount, 94 percent was spent for materials and 

supplies and the balance was allocated to the rental value or 

equivalent of equipment required during construction.

The stone, clay, glass, and concrete products category' 

had the largest disbursements for materials, with $105 

expended per $1,000 of construction costs or 22 percent of 

all materials and equipment costs. Lumber and wood 

products, except furniture, were $89 per $1,000 of 

construction, or 19 percent of materials and equipment 

costs. The fabricated metal products group, except ordnance and transportation equipment, was next most important at $74 or 16 percent. These three major categories 

constituted 57 percent of all purchased materials, supplies, 

and equipment costs. Other individual categories of materials ranked considerably below these figures in relative 

importance.

For convenience, construction machinery and equipment were included in the materials table as a separate 

category. Costs for construction equipment were based on 

rental or equivalent value of machinery or equipment at the 

construction site, exclusive of equipment operators. Expenditures amounted to $31 per $1,000 or slightly over 6 

percent of all materials and equipment costs.

Digitized for FRASER 

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Table 11. Cost of materials, supplies, and equipment used in apartment construction, by product, 1971

Product

Cost per

$ 1,000

of

contract

cost

Cost per

100 

square

feet

Percent

distribution1

Product

Cost per

$ 1,000

of

contract

cost

Cost per

100

square

feet

Percent

distribution1

Miscellaneous cleaners, thinners,

waxes, polishes, solvents.............. $ .11 $ 14 .02

P ain t...................................................... 6.56 8.50 1.38

Putty, calking, and glazing

compounds ...................................... .52 .67 .11

Fertilizer............................................... .20 .26 .04

Adhesives, all others.......................... .78 1.02 .16

Concrete admixtures, hardeners . . . 1.14 1.48 .24

Sealants ............................................... .30 .39 .06

Miscellaneous chemical

products ........................................... .30 .42 .06

Petroleum refining and related

products.................................................. 8.29 10.74 1.74

Fuels, diesel fuel, gas oil,

grease .................................................. .82 1.07 .17

Asphalt paving .................................... 3.65 4.74 .77

Insulation, asphalt board, rolls,

and sheathing.................................... 1.52 1.96 .32

Asphalt and tar pitches..................... 1.04 1.34 .22

Membrane waterproofing vapor

b arrier............................................... 1.26 1.63 .26

Rubber and miscellaneous plastic

products............................ ..................... 6.72 8.71 1.41

Rubber products................................. .45 .59 .10

Adhesives, rubber cem ent................. .17 .22 .04

Conduit and conduit fittings

(plastic)............................................. .48 .62 .10

Plastic pipe, tubing, conduits,

and fittings ...................................... 2.18 2.82 .46

Plumbing fixtures, premolded

plastic ............................................... .73 .95 .15

Insulation, styrofoam and other

plastic insulation............................ .24 .31 .05

Vinyl tile ............................................. .88 1.14 .18

Laminated plastic panels and

counter tops ................................... 1.34 1.74 .28

Other plastic products ..................... .16 .20 .03

Miscellaneous rubber and plastic

products ........................................... .10 .14 .02

Stone, clay, glass, and concrete

products.................................................. 105.35 136.51 22.12

Window glass ...................................... 1.02 1.32 .21

M irro rs.................................................. .67 .87 .14

Cem ent.................................................. 3.90 5.05 .82

(Clay) brick ........................................ 11.30 14.64 2.37

Ceramic tile ........................................ 2.73 3.54 .57

Clay refractories................................. .32 .41 .07

Clay sewer pipe.................................... .83 1.08 .17

Other clay structural products .14 .18 .03

Plumbing fixtures and accessories

vitreous china ................................. 3.03 3.92 .64

Concrete block, b ric k ........................ 4.80 6.22 1.01

Concrete p ip e ...................................... 1.73 2.24 .36

Other precast concrete products . . . 8.62 11.17 1.81

Ready mix concrete.......................... 29.92 38.76 6.28

L im e...................................................... .71 .93 .15

Gypsum products............................... 20.25 26.24 4.25

Marble and other cut stone.............. .47 .61 .10

Asbestos cement products .............. .14 .19 .03

Vinyl asbestos tile ............................... 3.41 4.42 .72

Asphalt floor tile ............................... 1.04 1.35 .22

Adhesives, asbestos cement.............. .23 .30 .05

Insulation, asbestos (including

sprayed-on) ..................................... .95 1.23 .20

Total materials, supplies,

and equipm ent............

Total materials and supplies

Agricultural products............................

Seeds and straw ...............................

Nursery products including sod . .

Mining and quarrying of nonmetallic

minerals, except fu e ls ........................

Sand and gravel and rip ra p ............

Fill dirt, topsoil ...............................

Textile mill products .

Carpeting and pads

Acoustic felts ....

Oakum and rope . .

Apparel and other finished products

made from fabrics and similar

materials.............................................

Draperies and curtains .................

Miscellaneous apparel and other

finished products........................

Lumber and wood products, except

furniture.............................................

Poles, timber (untreated) ............

Dressed and rough boards, and

dimension lumber .....................

Flooring (hardwood) and other

hardwood ....................................

Wooden shingles and excelsior . .

M illw o rk...........................................

Plyw ood...........................................

Fabricated structural laminates,

prefabricated...............................

Treated lum ber...............................

Plumbing accessories, fittings,

and wood tr im ............................

Miscellaneous wood products . . .

Furniture and fixtu res..........................

Kitchen cabinets and vanities,

p re b u ilt..........................................

Wooden cabinets, radio/TV,

kitchen, medicine........................

Metal cabinets, radio/TV, kitchen,

medicine ........................................

Wood partitions ..............................

Metal partitions ..............................

Venetian blinds, shades, curtain

tracks, rods ...................................

Miscellaneous furniture and

fixtures ..........................................

Paper and allied products............

T a p e ...........................................

Pressed wood ..........................

Enameled masonite tile ..........

Construction paper.................

Insulation, fiberboard............

Miscellaneous paper products

Chemical and allied products..............

Oxygen, acetelyne, and other chem

icals, not elsewhere classified .. .

Plastic vapor barrier sheets............

$476.25

445.33

3.98

.24

3.74

6.40

4.61

1.79

9.28

8.79

.37

.12

1.24

1.13

.11

88.94

.15

43.52

3.32

.56

20.10

11.01

7.56

.82

.26

1.63

18.55

12.87

1.57

2.17

.38

.20

1.07

.28

2.13

.48

.25

.12 

.36

.81

.10

10.55

.31

.31

$617.08

577.02

5.15

.31

4.85

8.29

5.97

2.32

12.03

11.39

.48

.16

1.61

1.46

.14

115.26

.19

56.39

4.30

.73

26.04

14.26

9.80

1.07

.34

2.13

24.03

16.68

2.04

2.81

.49

.26

1.39

.36

2.76

.62

.33

.16

.47

1.05

.13

13.66

.40

.40

100.00

93.51

.83

.05

.79

1.34

.97

.38

1.95

1.85

.08

.03

.26

.24

.02

18.67

.03

9.14

.70

.12

4.22

2.31

1.59

.17

.06

.34

3.89

2.70

.33

.46

.08

.04

.23

.06

.45

.10

.05

.03

.08

.17

.02

2.21

.06

.07

See footnotes at end of table.

Digitized for FRASER 

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Product

Cost per

$ 1,000

of

contract

cost

Cost per

100

square

feet

Percent

distribution1

Crushed rock, slag, miscellaneous

aggregate ........................................... $ 2.48 $ 3.22 .52

Insulation, p erlite ............................... .19 .25 .04

Plumbing fixtures, premolded

fiberglass.......................................... 1.56 2.02 .33

Insulation, fiberglass (mineral

or glass w o o l).................................... 3.60 4.66 .76

Acoustical tile, fiberglass

(mineral w o o l)................................. .10 .12 .02

Fiberglass reinforced plastics .......... .19 .25 .04

Sand-lime brick................................... .39 .51 .08

Miscellaneous stone, clay, glass,

and concrete products................... .62 .82 .13

Primary metal products.......................... 42.17 54.64 8.85

Structural ste e l................................... 7.63 9.89 1.60

Steel, galvanized and ferrous

noncast iron p ip e ............................ 5.26 6.82 1.10

Nails, wires, staples, ferro u s ............ 1.92 2.49 .40

Cable and wire, ferrous..................... 1.67 2.17 .35

Cast iron products ............................. .65 .84 .14

Cast iron pipe and fittings................. 9.40 12.18 1.97

Fire and water hydrants . ................ .16 .20 .03

L ea d ........................................ .............. .31 .40 .06

Copper pipe and tubing ................... 7.88 10.20 1.65

Cable and wire, nonferrous.............. 6.61 8.56 1.39

Nails, wires, staples,

nonferrous........................................ .43 .55 .09

Miscellaneous primary metal

products ........................................... .26 .34 .05

Fabricated metal products, except

ordnance, machinery, and transportation equipment ................................. 74.27 96.23 15.59

Builders' hardware ............................ 5.91 7.66 1.24

Plumbing fixtures, metal and

enameled iron ................................. 6.84 8.86 1.44

Plumbing accessories, fittings and

trim, brass........................................ 4.13 5.35 .87

Warm air furnaces............................... 3.33 4.31 .70

Incinerators ........................................ .29 .37 .06

Radiators and heaters (nonelectric) ............................................. 3.98 5.16 .84

Unit heaters and ventilators ............ .82 1.06 .17

Prefabricated structural steel .......... 2.09 2.70 .44

Metal doors.......................................... 5.50 7.13 1.15

Metal w indow s................................... 8.64 11.19 1.81

Fabricated metal plate products . . . .25 .33 .05

Storage tanks ...................................... .24 .31 .05

Aluminum sheet m e ta l..................... 1.28 1.66 .27

Galvanized sheet m e ta l..................... 4.64 6.01 .97

Fabricated sheet metal, all

other ................................................. 2.51 3.25 .53

Registers, grilles, diffusers................. .71 .93 .15

Metal acoustical suspension

systems ............................................. .12 .15 .02

Ornamental, architectural, and

miscellaneous metal work ............ 5.21 6.75 1.09

Scaffolding (m etal)............................. .55 .71 .12

Prefabricated metal buildings,

curtain walls, and parts ................. .24 .32 .05

Metal reinforcing bars........................ 8.06 10.45 1.69

All-metal nuts, bolts, washers,

screws, riv e ts .................................... .64 .82 .13

Mail boxes ........................................... .26 .34 .05

Wire mesh............................................. 2.71 3.51 .57

Chain link fe n c e ................................. .41 .54 .09

Product

Cost per

$ 1,000

of

contract

cost

Cost per

100

square

feet

Percent:

distribution1

Clips, fasteners................................... $ .24 $ .31 .05

Plumbing accessories, metal other

than brass ........................................ 2.21 2.87 .46

Miscellaneous fabricated metal

products .......................................... 2.45 3.18 .51

Machinery except electrical................... 17.68 22.92 3.72

Elevators, escalators, and

dumbwaiters ................................... 5.01 6.49 1.05

Pumps.................................................... .95 1.23 .20

Blowers, exhaust and ventilating

fa n s .................................................... 1.15 1.49 .24

Sprinkler systems (fire prevention) ............................................. .48 .62 .10

Fire hose (except rubber), rack,

d rier.................................................... .16 .20 .03

Air-conditioning equipment ...... 8.96 11.62 1.88

Water treatment equipment ............ .21 .27 .04

Miscellaneous machinery, except

electrical .......................................... .76 .99 .16

Electrical machinery, equipment, and

supplies.................................................... 44.59 57.78 9.36

Electric meters and measuring

equipm ent........................................ 1.30 1.69 .27

Transformers ...................................... .55 .71 .12

Electrical switchboards and panelboards ............................................... 4.42 5.73 .93

Electric motors and generators .19 .24 .04

Household cooking equipment 8.27 10.72 1.74

Household refrigerators,

coolers............................................... 10.53 13.64 2.21

Household laundry equipment .15 .19 .03

Household fan s.................................... 1.14 1.48 .24

Electric household heaters .............. .94 1.22 .20

Miscellaneous household electric

appliances ........................................ .11 .15 .02

Household hot water heaters .......... 1.72 2.23 .36

Household dishwashers, garbage

disposals ........................................... 2.60 3.37 .55

Electric lamps and bulbs................... .18 .24 .04

Lighting fixtures and nonelectric lamps and bulbs................ 3.88 5.03 .82

Current-carrying devices................... 1.83 2.37 .38

Conduit and conduit fittings

(m etal)............................................... 3.40 4.41 .71

Noncurrent-carrying devices............ 1.45 1.88 .30

Intercom and fire and burglar

alarm systems ................................. .53 .68 .11

T. V. systems ...................................... .23 .30 .0 5

A n ten n a............................................... .15 .20 .03

Miscellaneous electric machinery,

equipment, and supplies .............. 1.01 1.33 .21

Instruments and related products .81 1.04 .17

Gas and water meters, gauges,

air thermometers............................ .23 .30 .0 5

Temperature controls........................ .57 .74 .12

Miscellaneous manufacturing industries ......................................................... .61 .78 .13

Brushes and signs ............................... .23 .30 .0 5

Linoleum ............................................. .26 .33 .05

Fire extinguishers, portable ............ .12 .15 .0 2

Miscellaneous materials and supplies,

not elsewhere classified........................ 3.79 4.89 .80

See footnotes at end of table.

Digitized for FRASER 

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Product

Cost per

$ 1,000

of

contract

cost

Cost per

100

square

feet

Percent

distribution1Product

Cost per

$ 1,000

of

contract

cost

Cost per

100

square

feet

Percent

distribution1

Total contractors' construe- Mixers, pavers, and related

tio n equipm en t . . . .............. $ 30.92 $ 40.06 6.49 equipm ent........................................ $ 1.09 $ 1.42 .23

Front-er.d loaders............................... 2.31 3.00 .49

Fabricated metal products..................... .70 .90 .15 Hoists and monorails ........................ .97 1.26 .20

Small handtools (nonpower)............ .46 .60 .10 F o rk lifts 1.19 1.54 .25

Scaffolding (m etal)............................ .14 .18 .03 Pnuupr handtools 1.15 1.49 .24

Miscellaneous fabricated metal

r uvvci iia iiu iu u io . . ............................. . •

Compressors, pumps, jackhammers,

products ........................................... .22 .30 .05 a n d a rro c c n rio c 1.13 1.46 .24

Machinery, except electrical ................. 23.13 29.97 4.86 Miscellaneous machinery, except

Power cranes, draglines, shovels electrical ........................................... .10 .13 .02

(power) ...........................................' 4.55 5.89 .96 r nn 7 77

Tractors and bulldozers ................... 4.03 5.22 .85

I ransportation equipment.....................

Trucks (highway) ...............................

o.uu

5.81 7.53

1 .ZD

1.22

Backhoes and trenchers ................... 2.87 3.72 .60 Trailers.................................................. .19 .25 .04

Drill rig s ............................................... .62 .80 .13 Miscellaneous construction equipScrapers, graders................................. 1.57 2.04 .3 3 ment, not elsewhere classiRollers and all other heavy con­ fied .................................................... 1.10 1.41 .23

struction equipment ..................... 1.54 2.00 .32

1 D istribution is the same fo r both columns. N O T E : D etail m ay not add to totals due to rounding and

exclusion o f line item s containing in su fficient data.

Digitized for FRASER 

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Chapter V. Comparison With Other Surveys

Employee-hour requirements for multifamily housing 

construction were the lowest of any building construction 

sector studied in the BLS labor requirements series (table 

12).21 However, it is possible that requirements for 

single-family housing might have been the same as for 

apartment construction, or slightly lower, if the studies had 

been conducted in the same year.

In occupational requirements, multifamily housing did 

not closely match any of the other three residential studies 

in the BLS series—college housing, public housing, and 

single-family housing (table 13). Occupational requirements 

for multifamily housing were highest for administrative and 

supervisory workers and lowest for bricklayers, iron 

workers, plasterers and lathers, and laborers, helpers, and 

tenders.

Comparison of the cost figures in table 14 for multifamily housing with those for the other two recent

21 In comparing the multifamily housing construction survey with

other surveys of construction labor requirements, it must be kept in

mind that the studies cover different time periods. Furthermore,

comparisons cannot reasonably be made with heavy construction

(i.e. highways, sewer works, and civil works) which is entirely

different from residential and other building construction in labor

and material requirements.

residential surveys indicates that the proportion of onsite 

wages for multifamily housing, 27.9 percent, was higher 

than for single-family housing, 20.4 percent, but that public 

housing was the highest, at 32.4 percent. The ratio of 

materials for multifamily housing (44.2 percent) was very 

close to the ratios for the other two studies. On the other 

hand, among these three residential surveys, cost of 

equipment was the highest for multifamily housing, which 

indicates the more capital-intensive nature of taller buildings in that type of construction.

Material requirements for multifamily housing more 

closely resembled those for public housing than for other 

types of residential construction studied (table 15). Although multifamily housing required a larger proportion of 

lumber and a smaller proportion of metal products and 

stone, clay, glass, and concrete products than public 

housing, these three groups of materials made up the 

majority of materials in both types of construction. These 

three groups constituted 58 percent of total materials, 

equipment, and supplies for multifamily housing and over 

62 percent for public housing. The proportion of construction equipment was considerably higher for multifamily housing than for other residential construction 

because of the heavy equipment required to build the 

generally higher multifamily structures.

Table 12. Employee-hour requirements per 1,000 current dollars of contract cost, by industry, all construction studies,

1958-73

Type of construction

Year of

construction

Total,

all industries

Onsite

construction

Offsite

construction

Manufacturing

Wholesale trade,

transportation,

and services

Mining and

all other

Initial studies:

Federally aided highways ............................ 1958 237 97 10 66 39 24

Federal office buildings................................. 1959 227 97 12 72 31 16

Elementary and secondary schools ............

Civil works:

1959 222 86 10 74 32 19

Land projects............................................. 1959-60 201 85 6 53 35 22

Dredging...................................................... 237 134 11 57 23 12

Public housing.................................................. 1959-60 236 114 14 62 29 18

General hospitals............................................. 1959-60 210 89 11 79 19 13

College housing............................................... 1960-61 226 94 11 73 30 17

Single-family housing ....................................

Sewer works:

1962 202 72 12 61 31 26

Lines ........................................................... 1962-63

211 86 7 74 29 16

Plants........................................................... 210 83 7 72 32 16

Multifamily housing ...................................... 1971 126 50 8 43 15 10

Second studies:

Elementary and secondary schools ............ 1964-65 188 72 9 65 26 15

General hospitals............................................. 1965-66 178 76 10 64 18 10

Public housing.................................................. 1968 160 80 14 42 16 8

Single-family housing .................................... 1969 137 52 10 41 20 14

Federally aided highways ............................ 1973 114 44 6 37 18 8

Digitized for FRASER 

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
T y p e o f

c onstruction

Y e a r

o f

c o n ­

structio n

A ll

o ccupations

A d m in is ­

tra tiv e

and

supervisory

B ric k ­

layers

C arpenters

Electricians

Iro n ­

w orkers

O p e ra ting

engineers

Painters

Plasterers

and

lathers

P lu m b ­

ers

and

p ip e ­

fitte rs

O th e r

skilled

co n ­

structio n

trades

L a b o r e r s ,

h e lp e r s ,

and

tenders

O th e r

occupations

(in c lu d ­

ing

tru c k -

drivers)

In itia l studies:

F e d era lly aided

h ig h w a y s .................................. 1 9 5 8 1 0 0 .0 1 0 .4 C ) C ) C1) C ) ( * ) C1) C1) (') 2 3 8 .2 0 ) 3 5 1 .4

Federal office

buildings .................................. 1 9 5 9 1 0 0 .0 6 .0 5.2 1 2.6 9.1 4 .2 2 .4 2.1 3 .8 8 .7 1 1.8 3 2 .5 1.5

E le m e n ta ry and secon d ary s c h o o ls ....................... 1 9 5 9 1 0 0 .0 3 .9 9 .3 18.7 7.1 2 .8 1.9 3 .3 2 .7 9 .4 7 .9 2 9.1 4 .0

Civil w orks:

Land p ro je c ts .......................

1 9 5 9 -6 0

1 0 0 .0 10.1 6 .4 3.1 24.1 6 .9 2 3 .0 2 6 .4

Dredging ............................... 1 0 0 .0 4 .7 - - - - 1.1 - - - 1.7 1.7 4 9 0 .8

P ublic housing .......................... 1 9 5 9 -6 0 1 0 0 .0 4 .0 7 .6 19.1 4.1 2.1 2 .7 4 .4 6 .8 7 .8 6 .5 3 0 .9 4 .0

G eneral hospitals .................... 1 9 5 9 -6 0 1 0 0 .0 3.9 5 .4 1 3.2 8 .8 3 .5 1.6 2 .8 6 .2 14.2 12.0 2 6 .7 1.7

College h o u s in g .......................... 1 9 6 0 -6 1 1 0 0 .0 3 .4 1 0.0 1 6.9 6 .6 3 .9 1.7 3 .6 3 .4 9 .7 7 .8 3 1 .8 1.1

S in g le -fam ily h o u s in g ............ 1 9 6 2 1 0 0 .0 3 .0 5 .5 3 4 .6 2 .8 - 1.4 9 .5 2 .0 5 .2 1 2.2 2 3 .3 .5

S ew er w o rks:

L in e s ........................................

1 9 6 2 -6 3

1 0 0 .0 10.1 1.3 2 .4 .1 .4 1 9 .6 _ _ .4 2 .7 4 4 .5 1 8 .5

P la n ts ....................................... 1 0 0 .0 9 .0 2 .0 1 4.3 3 .3 3.9 1 4.6 1.5 — 5.1 6 .6 3 1 .7 8 .0

M u ltifa m ily h o u s in g .............. 1971 1 0 0 .0 5.8 5 .0 2 5 .4 5.9 2 .3 2 .9 4 .0 1.7 7 .6 1 1.3 2 5 .8 2 .3

Second studies:

E le m e n ta ry and seco n d a ry s c h o o ls ....................... 1 9 6 4 -6 5 1 0 0 .0 3 .6 9 .2 1 6.5 7 .3 3.1 2 .7 3 .5 2 .0 9 .6 10.1 3 0 .9 1.5

G eneral hospitals .................... 1 9 6 5 -6 6 1 0 0 .0 3 .2 5 .0 1 3.0 9 .9 3.1 1.8 2 .6 6.1 1 5.6 13.1 2 5 .7 .7

P ublic housing .......................... 1 9 6 8 1 0 0 .0 3 .6 7 .8 2 0 .3 5 .8 3 .5 3.1 4 .9 3 .0 9 .3 6 .6 3 0 .2 1.9

S in g le -fam ily h o u s in g ............ 1 9 6 9 1 0 0 .0 2 .8 5.7 3 4 .9 3 .0 - 1.8 7 .3 1.7 4 .3 2 0 .0 2 7 .9 .5

Fe d era lly aided

h ig h w a y s .................................. 1 9 7 3 1 0 0 .0 5 .9 - 6.1 1.1 2 .5 2 5 .5 .3 - .2 5 8 .9 3 4 .0 6 1 9.0

1 D etail by occupation n o t available.

2 Excludes apprentices and on-the-job trainees.

3 Includes apprentices and on-the-job trainees

helpers, and tenders.

4 Includes m ostly ships' masters, captains, mates,

support personnel.

and laborers,

crew m en, and

5 Includes apprentices and on-the-job trainees.

6 Includes blue-collar supervisors.

N O T E : D etail m ay n o t add to totals due to rounding.

Dash denotes zero.

Table 14. Percent distribution of contract costs, all construction studies, 1958-73

Type of construction Year of

construction

Total

contract costs

Onsite wages Materials Equipment Overhead and

profit1

Initial studies:

Federally aided highways ........................................... 1958 100.0 23.9 50.6 (2) 25.5

Federal office buildings............................................... 1959 100.0 29.0 51.4 1.9 17.7

Elementary and secondary schools .......................... 1959 100.0 26.7 54.1 1.4 17.8

Civil works:

Land projects........................................................... 100.0 26.0 35.0 19.3 19.7

Dredging..................................................................... 1959-60 100.0 32.3 17.3 24.9 25.5

Public housing................................................................ 1959-60 100.0 35.5 45.0 2.5 17.0

General hospitals........................................................... 1959-60 100.0 28.2 53.2 1.2 17.4

College housing . . . . , .................................................. 1960-61 100.0 29.3 52.6 1.6 16.5

Single-family housing3 ............................................... 1962 100.0 22.1 47.2 1.0 29.7

Sewer works:

Lines ......................................................................... 100.0 24.3 44.5 11.2 20.0

Plants.........................................................................

1962-63 100.0 26.6 49.2 8.2 16.0

Multifamily housing .................................................... 1971 100.0 27.9 44.2 3.0 24.8

Second studies:

Elementary and secondary schools .......................... 1964-65 100.0 25.8 54.2 1.0 19.0

General hospitals........................................................... 1965-66 100.0 29.6 50.4 1.3 18.7

Public housing................................................................ 1968 100.0 32.4 41.9 1.5 24.2

Single-family housing3 ............................................... 1969 100.0 20.4 43.4 .9 35.3

Federally aided highways ........................................... 1973 100.0 24.6 44.5 (2) 30.9

in c lu d e s offsite wages, fringe benefits, construction financing 2 E q u ip m en t included w ith overhead and p rof it.

costs, in ven to ry, and other overhead and adm inistrative expenses as 3 Includes selling expenses,

w ell as p ro fit.

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T y p e o f co n stru ctio n

Y e a r

o f

constructio n

T o ta l

m a te ­

rials,

supplies,

and

e q u ip m en t

L u m b e r

and

w o o d

p ro d ­

ucts

(in c lu d ­

ing

fu r n itu re )

P aint

and

c h em icals

P etro ­

leum

p ro d ­

ucts

S to n e,

clay,

glass,

and

cem ent

p ro d ­

ucts

M etal

p ro d ­

ucts

(e x ce p t

as in d icated

elsew h ere)

Plu m b ing

p ro d ­

ucts

H eating,

v e n tila tin g , a n d a i r -

c o n d itio n ­

ing eq u ip ­

m e n t (e x ce p t

electrical)

Electrical

p ro d ­

ucts

O th e r

fix e d

e q u ip ­

m e n t

C o n ­

structio n

e q u ip ­

m e n t1

A ll

o th e r

In itia l studies:

F e d era lly aided h ig h w a y s ............................ 1 9 5 8 1 0 0 .0 1.8 ( 2 ) 17.1 28.1 1 9 .5 C2 ) C2 ) ( 2 ) C2 ) ( 3) 3 3 .6

Federal o ffic e b u ild in g s ................................ 1 9 5 9 1 0 0 .0 3 .3 .9 .9 2 2 .2 2 5.1 5.1 1 2 .3 1 8 .2 8 .0 3 .5 .5

E le m e n ta ry and secondary s c h o o ls ____ 1 9 5 9 1 0 0 .0 8 .6 1.4 2 .0 2 4 .4 2 8 .9 5 .8 9 .6 10.9 2 .9 2 .5 3 .0

Civil w orks:

Land projects ............................................. 1 QCQ fin 1 0 0 .0 4 .0 3 .8 1 2 .6 2 5 .5 1 5 .6 .3 .1 .2 .2 3 5 .5 2 .2

D r e d g in g ......................................................... 1 0 0 .0 C2 ) 3 .9 28.1 .2 7 .5 C2 ) C2 ) .4 .2 5 9 .0 .7

P ublic h o u s in g ................................................... 1 9 5 9 -6 0 1 0 0 .0 14.1 1 .8 1.7 2 7 .9 2 2 .8 1 0 .0 3 .6 4 .8 6.1 5 .3 1.7

General h o s p ita ls ............................................. 1 9 5 9 -6 0 1 0 0 .0 4 .2 .8 .9 1 9 .4 2 6 .4 8 .7 9 .8 1 1 .0 1 6.3 2.1 .5

College housing ................................................ 1 9 6 0 -6 1 1 0 0 .0 1 0.7 1.1 1.1 2 6 .6 2 8 .2 7 .7 5 .9 8 .3 6 .9 2 .9 .7

S in g le -fam ily h o u s in g ..................................... 1 9 6 2 1 0 0 .0 4 0 .0 2.1 2 .3 2 4 .2 1 1 .4 5 .6 3 .8 3 .6 2 .8 2 .0 2 .0

S ew er w o rks :

Lines .................................................................

1 9 6 2 -6 3

1 0 0 .0 .8 .4 3 .0 6 0 .5 11.1 C2 ) C2 ) .6 3.1 2 0 .2 C2 )

P lants ..............................................................

1U U L v u

1 0 0 .0 1.6 1 .0 1 .8 1 9 .0 2 7 .6 .4 2 .0 8 .3 2 3 .3 1 4.2 .6

M u ltifa m ily h o u s in g ........................................ 1971 1 0 0 .0 2 2 .0 2 .2 2 .3 2 2.1 1 4 .0 9 .5 5 .0 5 .8 5 .7 6 .5 4 .7

Second studies:

E le m e n ta ry and secondary s c h o o ls ____ 1 9 6 4 -6 5 1 0 0 .0 9 .4 1 .0 2 .3 2 4 .0 2 4 .8 7 .2 9 .6 9 .8 6 .8 2 .8 2 .4

G eneral h o s p ita ls ........................................ 1 9 6 5 -6 6 1 0 0 .0 4 .7 .8 .8 18.1 2 2 .9 1 0.3 9 .8 1 2.2 16.1 2 .5 1 .8

P ublic h o u s in g ................................................... 1 9 6 8 1 0 0 .0 1 4 .4 2 .0 2 .2 2 5 .5 2 2 .6 1 0 .0 4 .4 7 .9 5 .8 3 .5 1 .8

S in g le -fam ily h o u s in g ..................................... 1 9 6 9 1 0 0 .0 4 0 .6 1 .8 1.8 2 1 .5 9 .4 6 .9 4 .2 3 .9 2 .5 1.9 5 .5

F e d era lly aided h ig h w a y s ............................. 1 9 7 3 1 0 0 .0 1.7 2 .0 17.3 3 2 .2 2 2 .8 < *) ( * ) 4 .5 < * ) ( 3 ) 1 9.7

Rental cost and depreciation or equivalent value. 3 C onstruction eq u ip m en t included in all other.

2 N one reported.

N O T E : Detail m ay n o t add to totals due to rounding.

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Appendix A. Survey Scope and Methods

The study was designed primarily to develop estimates 

of employee-hour requirements for the construction of 

private multifamily housing in structures of five units or 

more in Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas.

Characteristics of universe and selection of sample

The sample frame was constructed by analyzing the 

distribution of building permits issued during calendar year 

1969, as shown in the Bureau of the Census, Construction

Reports, C40-69-13, “Housing Authorized by Building 

Permits and Public Contracts, 1969.” A probability sample 

of metropolitan areas was drawn to represent all privately 

owned multifamily housing in structures of five units or 

more located in metropolitan areas, where building permits 

were issued during 1969 for 500 units or more of this type. 

The following 22 Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas 

were selected

Atlanta 

Baltimore 

Boston 

Chicago 

Cincinnati 

Dallas 

Denver 

Detroit

It was not feasible for the Bureau of the Census to 

provide a list of all completed projects in the survey 

universe. However, a significant portion of these projects 

were financed under the auspices of the Federal Housing 

Administration (FHA). FHA-insured starts of buildings 

with five units or more in metropolitan areas during 

calendar years 1969, 1970, and 1971 were estimated as 14, 

35, and 27 percent respectively of the total starts in that 

class. Accordingly, the sample was drawn from FHA reports 

to represent the entire survey universe, which includes 

non-FHA starts.

A sample of 89 projects was selected from FHA reports 

on projects completed between July 1, 1970, and August 1, 

1971, in the areas previously listed. (After completion of 

the survey it was learned that most construction took place 

in 1971.)

The survey excluded projects meeting any of the 

following criteria:

1. Ten percent or more of available footage is for

commercial use.

2. Ten percent or more of available footage is of

modular construction.

3. Ten percent or more of available footage is for

townhouses. A townhouse is defined as a singlefamily house with common walls to adjacent 

buildings and independent utility connections 

(sewer, water, gas, electricity).

4. The entire project is a condominium or cooperative

development.

5. The entire project is special-purpose housing such as

senior citizens’ housing, which has unique architectural features.

Data collection procedures

Three major stages were employed to fulfill the objective 

of reliable data for each project in the study: (1) Pretest 

and training, (2) Federal Housing Administration (FHA) 

area office visits, and (3) visits to project sites and 

contractors.

Pretest and training. Education and orientation were 

accomplished in two ways. First, experienced data collectors from three regional offices assembled in Washington, 

D. C., to discuss the survey and prepare for the pretest. The 

Washington staff explained the purpose of the complex 

study and proposed collection schedules. Informal discussion was conducted to clarify specific points, and 

agreement was reached on the data required to meet the 

objectives. Each regional representative was then assigned 

two projects for pretest. The representatives were to visit 

the FHA area office, general contractor, and subcontractors 

for each project. When this assignment was completed, all 

data were forwarded to Washington with a critique and 

recommendations for improvements and modifications to 

the survey approach. The Washington staff revised and 

improved final schedules and field instructions.

Next, representatives from all eight BLS regional offices 

met in Washington, D.C., for a training session. All facets of 

the program were explained in detail with the use of 

training aids, collection instructions, and schedules for data 

collection. Findings of the pretest survey were presented 

and potential problem areas were discussed. Regional 

coordinators generally transmitted this information to data 

collectors at a regional conference.

Federal Housing Administration area office visits. During 

the survey planning stage, the BLS requested that the FHA 

send a letter describing the survey to all FHA area offices to 

solicit their cooperation when a BLS representative would 

visit. This approach assured entree to the area offices with 

FHA endorsements for the survey.

Houston 

Kansas City 

Los Angeles 

Memphis 

Miami 

Minneapolis 

New Orleans

New York 

Oklahoma City 

Philadelphia 

Phoenix 

San Diego 

San Francisco 

Washington

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The BLS data collectors had three missions to perform 

when visiting the area office; (1) Obtain project payrolls, 

(2) obtain building characteristics, and (3) obtain listings of 

all contractors involved in the project construction.

The data collectors arranged to have payroll data of the 

general contractor and subcontractors forwarded to the 

BLS regional office on loan. (Contractors are required to 

keep these records for 3 years to comply with the 

Davis-Bacon Act.) In some cases, the payrolls had been 

placed in a Federal storage depository and authorization 

had to be obtained to secure them. In other cases, copies of 

the original payrolls were made and forwarded to the BLS 

regional office.

Next, the BLS data collectors obtained the name, 

address, contract value, and type of contract for all general 

and prime contractors and subcontractors on the sample 

project. Missing payrolls were identified so that the 

contractor could later furnish supplemental information.

Visits to project sites and contractors. After completing 

their research at the FHA area office, data collectors visited 

the construction site to become as familiar as possible with 

the structural characteristics of the project before visiting 

the general contractor. If the general contractor should 

refuse to cooperate, the project would have to be dropped 

and another one substituted. The substitution of sample 

projects is time consuming and costly and, in addition, 

could bias the survey results. Therefore, every effort was 

made to enlist the cooperation of the general contractor by 

explaining the nature of the survey and the reasons for 

conducting it. Of the approximately 2,800 contractors who 

were interviewed in the sample of 89 projects, only a small 

number refused to cooperate or could not be located.

If the contractor agreed, he was asked to verify the final 

contract value, including change orders, and the list of 

subcontractors and their current addresses. Additional 

payroll data were obtained for onsite workers who were not 

covered by the Davis-Bacon Act, such as the superintendent, technical personnel, and watchmen. Finally the 

data collectors recorded the type of each material, its 

purchase cost, and the name and fair rental value or 

equivalent of any equipment used on the job. Each of the 

subcontractors also was contacted to obtain similar data.

After all the data for a sample project were collected, 

they were checked for completeness and internal consistency by the regional office and forwarded to Washington, D.C., for final analysis, editing, and coding for 

computer processing.

Data collected for the private multifamily construction 

survey were very complex and required experienced personnel for processing.

Procedures used to develop employee-hour estimates

Onsite and offsite employee-hour estimates were combined to obtain estimates of total employee-hour requirements for private multifamily housing.

Onsite (direct) employee-hours, as explained in the 

previous section, were obtained from payrolls submitted by 

the contractors to the FHA. Offsite (indirect) employeehour requirements, representing the hours to produce, 

transport, and sell the materials, supplies and equipment 

used in construction, were developed by use of the 1963 

Interindustry Study of the Bureau of Economic Analysis 

(BEA) of the U.S. Department of Commerce. The basic 

data on materials, supplies, and equipment were collected 

by the BLS field representatives from each prime contractor and his subcontractors (or estimated in a relatively 

small number of cases).

The materials listings thus obtained were categorized 

according to the 4-digit industry classification of the 

Standard Industrial Classification Manual (1967 edition, 

Office of Management and Budget). For each product 

group, the average amount required for $1,000 of construction cost was calculated. This bill of materials was deflated 

to the 1963 price level by application of the appropriate 

wholesale price indexes. The resulting deflated value for 

each group was reduced by a ratio representing the 

difference between valuation by the purchaser and valuation by the producer. (This ratio was based on data 

provided by BEA.) The differences between purchaser and 

producer valuation were allocated to trade and transportation sectors. The deflated values were matched to the 

sector coefficients in the 1963 interindustry study of BEA. 

For each group of materials, the interindustry study 

provided information on the amount of products required 

from each of the 367 industry sectors. The product data 

were converted to employee-hours by use of output per 

employee-hour ratios for each industry. While processing 

the data, the Economic Growth Division of BLS adjusted 

for price and productivity changes from the base year of 

the tables (1963) to the study year. The results were the 

average total (indirect) employee-hours per $1,000 of 

contract cost required to produce, transport, and sell the 

materials used to construct the projects covered by this 

survey.

These employee-hours, plus the builders’ offsite employment, were combined with direct or onsite employee-hours 

to determine total employee-hours within the definition of 

the study. Offsite employment of each construction contractor was not obtained directly from the contractors since 

it would be difficult to allocate a portion of total offsite 

employment to a particular project. Instead, an estimate for 

these employee-hours was developed by applying the ratio 

of construction workers to all employees in the special 

trade contractors industry for 1971, as reported in Employment and Earnings, United States, 1909-72 (BLS Bulletin 

1812—9) to the onsite employee-hours collected for this 

study.

An additional measure of employee-hours expended in 

construction, i.e., employee-hours per 100 square feet of 

construction, was developed by applying the cost per 100 

square feet of construction to employee-hours per $1,000 

of construction contract cost.

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Appendix B. Forms Used for Data Collection

BLS 2652.01A O ffice of Management and 

Budget No. 44R1381 

Approval expires: 12-31-72

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR 

Bureau of Labor S ta tis tic s 

Washington, D.C. 20212

PROJECT INFORMATION

SURVEY OF

CONSTRUCTION LABOR REQUIREMENTS 

FOR

MULTI-FAMILY HOUSING

The Bureau of Labor Statisties

will hold all information furv

ish.ed by the respondent in

strict confidence.

OFFICE

USE

ONLY

Survey

Ident FHA P r o je c t No. Region C ity Weight

0 1 1 1 1 i i i i i ____ 1.......L , ____1____l___

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GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

I* CONSTRUCTION DATES

a« The beginning date of the p ro je c t operatio n i s the date of the f i r s t day of 

o n -site construction a c tiv ity ,

b. The ending date i s the day the b u ild in g is ready fo r ten an t occupancy (the 

B e n e fic ia l Occupancy D a te ). Even i f a d d it io n a l work i s done a f t e r the BOD 

d ate f o r r e p a i r s o r replacem ent o f m a t e r i a l s , use the BOD date as the 

ending d a te . Do no t r e p o r t any equipm ent, la b o r , o r m a te r ia ls c o sts 

o c c u rrin g a f t e r the BOD d ate anywhere on t h i s sch ed u le.

c . The "number of c o n stru c tio n weeks" means the number of weeks the p ro je c t was 

under c o n stru c tio n , including the weeks during which work was completely 

stopped. I t is the time period from the beginning date to the ending date.

I I . VALUE OF CONTRACT

Round a l l e n t r i e s to whole d o l l a r s . The sum o f I I . b . , I I . c . , I I . d . , and I I . e .

should equal the contract value of I I .a .

a . For the c o n tr a c t amount, use the t o t a l FRA c o n tr a c t amount a d ju s te d f o r a l l 

change o rd ers. Land c o st and land development, such as dem olition and s ite 

improvement p rio r to grading and excavation, shou ld b e excluded. V alidate 

t h is c o n tra c t amount when you go to the general and prime c o n tr a c to r s .

NOTE: Land development and s i t e improvement take p lac e p r i o r to c o n s tr u c tio n

and should be excluded from the c o n tract amount. Landscaping takes place 

a fte r building construction begins and is usually included in the co n tract 

amount.

The to ta l c o n tra ct p rice is the general c o n tra c t, plus a l l the prime c o n tra c ts , 

pi us any m a te r ia ls and s u p p lie s purchased s e p a r a te ly by the d e v elo p er. Be 

careful to watch for m ate ria ls and supplies purchased sepai*ately by the 

d e veloper. (The c o s ts o f m a t e r i a ls and s u p p lie s provided by a developer w i l l 

not be r e f le c te d in any g e n e ra l, prim e, or sub c o n tra c t and must be added to 

the B form prep ared f o r the g en eral c o n t r a c t o r . )

Frequently "change orders" w ill occur during construction. These are changes 

which a re made in the o r i g i n a l c o n tr a c t p lan s or s p e c i f i c a t i o n s . The c o n tr a c t 

amount you rep o rt must r e f le c t a l l change o rd ers.

b. These normally w ill not be included in the c o n tra c t p ric e . Enter "0" i f 

th is is the case.

c . The commercial p o rtio n r e f e rs to space rented by companies and o rg a n iz a tio n s, 

except the o ffic e s of the building management. Include hallways, e le v a to rs, 

or other p arts of the building i f they are used prim arily to service the 

commercial re n ta l u n its.

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I . CONSTRUCTION DATES

a . Beginning ( m o ./d a y /y r.) .....................

b. Ending (m o./day/yr.) .••••••••••••

c. Total number of co n stru ctio n weeks

/ / 1

/ / 2

3

I I . VALUE OF CONTRACT

a . What i s the t o t a l c o n tr a c t p r ic e o f th e p r o je c t

(excluding land and land developments)?

Round e n tr ie s to whole d o lla r s . ........................................... $ 4

b. What r e a l e s t a t e commissions, c lo s in g c o s ts , or 

other sales expenses are included in the to ta l 

contract price? ......... .............................................................. $ 5

c . How much o f the c o n tr a c t p r ic e was f o r the

commercial p o rtio n o f the pro 1ect? ............••••••••••• $______________

6

d. How much o f the c o n tr a c t p r ic e was f o r

"under cover" parking (indoor garage, carp o rt, 

canopied areas, e tc .)? ............................. .............•••• ........... $ 7

e . How much o f the c o n tr a c t p r ic e was fo r the

resid e n tial portion of the proiect? ......................... $

8

Notes

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d. Include the value of parking which is under cover--indoor parking, carp o rts, 

and canopied parking areas. Exclude outdoor parking such as paved lo ts .

e. The r e s id e n tia l p o rtio n includes the liv in g a re a , h allw ays, e le v a to rs and 

a sso ciated p a rts of the b u ild in g , such as basement u t i l i t y rooms and laundry 

rooms. The r e s id e n tia l p o rtio n i s everything in the p ro je c t except commercial 

a re a s and under-cover p a rk in g . Any s e p a ra te b u ild in g , e.g., power p lan t or 

o th er r e s id e n tia l serv ice f a c i l i t i e s , should be considered r e s id e n tia l. A lso, 

a number o f f a c i l i t i e s o u tsid e the p r o je c t b u ild in g s should be included w ith 

re sid e n tia l value. These include outdoor parking, outdoor recreatio n al 

f a c i li ti e s , sidewalks, s tr e e t lig h ts , landscaping, drainage and sewer systems, 

u t i l i t y lin e s , and fences.

I I I . GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF PROJECT

a. 4 Record the a p p ro p r ia te code.

b. Do n o t count basements a s s t o r i e s .

NOTE: Townhouses a re o u t-o f-s c o p e o f t h i s survey i f they have in d ep en d en t,

se lf-c o n ta in e d f a c i l i t i e s such as plumbing*, h e a tin g , e l e c t r i c i t y , garages, 

and c e lla rs . I f the f a c i li ti e s are not independent and self-contained for 

each townhouse, however, they are in-scope and each "row" of houses should 

be co n sid ered as one b u ild in g . Each ,!housen should be co n sid ered as a 

ren tal u n it.

c. Enter the number of u p its for each category.

d. Use the square footage which corresponds to th e commercial p o rtio n used in 

I I .c . Note th at th is is gross commercial square footage, including h a ll ­

ways, elev ato rs, and other f a c i li ti e s used to service the commercial areas.

The FHA c a lc u la tio n f o r " n e t r e n ta b le commercial a r e a 1' can no t be u sed.

e. Record the square footage of under-cover parking (indoor, carp o rt, and 

canopied areas) which corresponds to the parking portion used in II.d. This 

is not n ecessarily the to ta l amount of parking a v a ilab le for tenants.

f . The r e s id e n tia l square footage i s the to ta l square footage of the p ro je c t 

buildings minus the commercial and the under-cover parking areas. Note th at 

th is is gross re sid e n tia l square footage, including hallways, e lev ato rs, 

laundry rooms, u t i l i t y rooms, and other facilities used to service the 

r e s i d e n t i a l a r e a s . The FHA c a lc u la tio n fo r ’’n e t r e n ta b le r e s i d e n t i a l area** 

can not be used.

g. Include buildings having freig h t and service elev ato rs and elevators servicing 

commercial areas.

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GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF PROJECT

a . What does t h i s p r o je c t contain? 

Code

9

1. A s in g le b u ild in g ( r e s i d e n t i a l only)

2. A s in g le b u ild in g ( r e s i d e n t i a l and commercial)

3. A complex o f two o r more r e s i d e n t i a l b u ild in g s

A. A complex o f two o r more r e s i d e n t i a l and commercial b u ild in g s

b. llow many r e s i d e n t i a l ap artm en t b u ild in g s a re th e re w ith the

following sto rie s? (Enter number of b u ild in g s.)

10

Two or th re e s t o r i e s ..••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• i i

Four to six s to rie s •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 12

Seven to twelve s to rie s ••••••♦••••••••••••••••••••• 13

Thirteen to nineteen sto rie s All b Vvll b V IIA4IV b VVii W W V *. V U ••••••••••••••••••••••• 14

15

How many o f th e fo llo w in g types o f r e s i d e n t i a l 

re n ta l u n its are there? (Enter number of u n its .)

Efficiency or studio u n its •••••••••••••••••••••••«• 16

One bedroom u n i ts 17

Two bedroom u n i ts ..............

18

Three or more bedroom u n its ....................................................

19

d. What i s the t o t a l square footage of commercial 

ren tal units (excluding parking)? ..............................

20

e . How many square f e e t a re provided o f "under cover" 

parking (indoor garage, carp o rt,

canopied areas, e tc .)? ......................... .................... ...........

21

f. What I s the t o t a l square footage o f 

're sid e n tia l area? 22

g # How many b u ild in g s in t h i s p r o je c t have 

‘elevators? ......... •••••••

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a.-j. Code fo r the b u ild in g m a te ria l t h a t accounted fo r the h ig h e s t c o s t in 

the c o n stru c tio n o f each item . For example, i f wood paneling is used 

along with drywall (wallboard, sheetrock) in in te rio r wall construction, 

and the m aterial and labor costs associated with drywall construction 

accounts for most of the in te rio r wall construction co sts, use code 

"1," drywall.

Enter only one code for each item.

Give an explanation when ever an item cannot be coded.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
What Is the p r in c ip a l b u ild in g m a te ria l used fo r each 

of the following:

a . Foundation ............................................................ ......................

Code

1. Concrete block

2. Concrete p ilin g s

3. Steel p ilin g s

4. V ertical poured concrete

5. Other (specify) .

t

b. Frame ................ ..............................................................................

25

26

Code

1. Wood

2. Steel

3. Brick

4. Concrete block

5. Reinforced concrete

6. Other (specify) ___

c. Wall sheathing .......................

Code

1. Plywood

2. Asphalt paper or board

3. None

4. Other (specify) ______

d. E xterior w alls

Code

1. Brick

2. Wood

3. Stucco

4. Aluminum sid in g

5. Asbestos or asp h alt shingles

6. Stone

7. Composition board

8. Curtain wall (specify type of m aterial)

9. Other (specify) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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N otes

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e. In te rio r v a ils ............................................................... ..

Code

1. Drywall (sheetrock)

2. P la ste r

3. Wood p an elin g

4. Other (specify) _________________________

f. Floor base ................

Code

1. Concrete

2. Wood/plywood

3. Steel

4. Other (specify)

g . F lo o r covering .......................................

Code

1. Hardwood

2. Asphalt t i l e

3. Vinyl and vinyl asbestos t i l e

4. Linoleum

5. Carpeting

6. Other (specify) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

h . Roof base .....................

Code

1. Concrete

2. Wood/plywood

3. In su latin g board

4. Other (specify)

l . Type of roof covering 

Code

1. B uilt up

2. Asphalt shingle

3. Wood s h in g le

4. Other (specify) _

29

30

31

32

33

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
k . - o . Code the c h a r a c t e r i s t i c which acco u n ts fo r the h ig h e s t c o st in constru c tin g each item. Enter only one code for each question.

k. Enter code "1" ("c e n tra l to p ro je c t") for a one-building p ro je c t 

having central heating.

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IV e PRINCIPAL BUILDING MATERIALS AND FIXTURES— Continued

j . C e i l i n g ........... ............................................................................

Code

1. Accoustical t i l e

2. Drywall

3. P laster

4. Other (specify) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

What i s the p r in c i p a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c o f each o f 

the following:

k . Type o f h e a ti n g u n i t ................................................

Code

1. Central to project

2. Individual bwLlding h eating in m u lti-building p ro ject

3. Individual apartment heating

4. Other (specify) ______ _ _ _ _ _ ___________________

1. Type of h e a t ..................

Code

1. Forced a ir 

2* Hot w ater o r steam 

3* Baseboard e l e c t r i c

4, Wall unit

5. Other (specify) __

m. H eating fu el ............

Code

1. E le c tric ity

2. Gas

3. Oil

4. Coal

5. Other (specify)

36

37

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n. Enter code "1" (" c e n tra l to p ro je c t" ) fo r a one-building p ro je c t having 

c e n tra l a i r c o n d itio n in g , Window u n its " are room a i r co n d itio n ers which 

are not permanently attached to the building.

p. "Compactors" are used to compress trash and/or garbage before disposal.

q. W rite a b r i e f d e s c r i p ti o n o f the r e c r e a t i o n a l f a c i l i t i e s which were in clu d e d in 

the contract value. This is not n ecessarily those f a c i l i t i e s available for 

use by the te n a n ts . E x p lain , when n e c e ssa ry , w hether the f a c i l i t i e s are 

located inside or outside the buildings (e.g., "outdoor pool," "indoor 

pool").

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
n . A ir conditioning . ................ .................................................

Code

1. Central to project

2. Individual building a ir conditioning in m u lti-building p ro ject

3. Individual apartment a ir conditioning 

A. Window u n its

5. None

o. Laundry f a c ilitie s 39

Code

1. Central laundry room(s)

2. Laundry room on each flo o r

3. Laundry equipment in each apartment

4 . None

5. Other (specify) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

p. Is th is p roject equipped with in cin erato rs 

or compactors? ......... ................................................

Code

1. Yes

2. No

q # L i s t number and type o f r e c r e a t i o n a l f a c i l i t i e s in clu d ed in 

in the contract value:

40

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
r . Modular o r com pletely p r e - f a b r i c a t e d b u ild in g s a re o u t-o f-s c o p e fo* t h i s 

survey. This question, however, deals with p re-fab rica ted items which 

are used in non-raodular buildings.

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r . Were any o f th e fo llo w in g p r e - f a b r i c a t e d m a te r ia ls 

used in the construction of the project? ( If yes, 

enter "1.")

In te rio r w alls ............ 41

E xterior w alls ............ 42

Pre-finished siding ................ ....... ............. .. 43

Pre-asserabled windows ............................................... ........ 44

Pre-hung doors ......... ..

45

Roof trusses 46

Gable ends .........................

47

Cornices and/or roof overhangs 48

P re-finished or panelized floors ....................... .... 49

P re-stressed concrete floor panels ................ .......... 50

Pre-wired e le c tr ic a l c irc u its .................................. . . 51

O ffsite fab ricated duct work ....................................

52

F ire p la c e s and chimneys ................................................... 53

S taircase un its 54

Plumbing trees ................ .. 55

Complete bathrooms .......................

56

Shower u n its 57

P a rtia l kitchens ......................................................... ........ 58

Kitchen cabinets ..••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 59

Other (specify) 60

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
s. Cross-check the appliances reported here w ith the m a te ria ls recorded on 

the B forms to make sure t h a t no a p p lia n c e c o s ts have been o m itte d . I f 

appliances were purchased by the developer, include these co sts in the 

c o n tr a c t v alu es I I . a , and I I . e . o f the A form, and a d ju s t the general 

c o n t r a c t o r 's B form to in clu d e these item s in h i s c o n tr a c t amount and 

m aterials co sts.

V. WORK STOPPAGES

Count the number of days during the c o n stru c tio n p eriod when a l l o n - s ite 

work was com pletely stopped. When th e re a re s e v e r a l complete sto p p a g e s, 

add the number of days the work was stopped. Convert t h is to an eq u iv a len t 

number of work weeks and round to a whole number.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
8• How many of each of the fo llo w in g a p p lia n c e s were 

in sta lle d in the project? (Exclude appliances 

supplied by outside firm s fo r re n t or co n cessio n .)

Stoves ............................................................... .....................

R e f r ig e r a to r s ............................................................. ....

Dishwashers ..........................................................................

Garbage d is p o s a ls ................................

Washers • ................................•••••••••. ...........................

Dryers .................. ..................................................................

E xtractors ................ .............................................. .............

61

62

63

64

65

66

67

V# WORK STOPPAGES

a. I f there were any complete work stoppages during the 

construction of th is p ro je c t, such as m aterial shortages, 

s trik e s , or d isruptive weather, enter the to ta l 

number of work weeks l o s t due to such stoppages.

(Round to whole numbers.) ................................

b. Please explain any complete stoppages:

68

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VI # NUMBER OF CONTRACTS

I f th is inform ation cannot be a c cu ra te ly completed a t the i n i t i a l interview 

with the general c o n tra c to r, i t should be completed l a t e r by the agent after 

a l l contractors have been scheduled.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
V I. NUMBER OF CONTRACTS

a . How many c o n tr a c ts were l e t f o r t h i s p r o je c t?

General and prime c o n tr a c ts ............. .............................

69

Subcontracts ........................................... ............................ .. 70

Sub subcontracts .................................................... ..

TOTAL ............................................................................................

71

72

How many B schedules a re a tta c h e d fo r t h i s 

project? ......... .............................................. 73

Notes

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
BLS 2652.01B O ffice of Management and 

Budget No. 44R1381 

Approval expires: 12-31-72

U .S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR 

Bureau of Labor S ta tis tic s 

Washington, D.C. 20212

CONTRACT INFORMATION

SURVEY OF

CONSTRUCTION LABOR REQUIREMENTS 

FOR

MULTI-FAMILY HOUSING

The Bureau of Labor Statistics

will hold all information furnished by the respondent in

strict confidence.

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GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

This form must be completed fo r each c o n tra c t th a t has been l e t on the sample p r o je c t. 

I f ABC C o n s tru c tio n Company was awarded th re e s e p a ra te c o n t r a c t s , th re e ” B” forms 

f o r ABC w i l l o r d i n a r i l y be p re p a re d . An ex c ep tio n to t h i s r u le o ccu rs when ABC 

rec o rd s a re such th a t lab o r and m a te ria l c o s ts cannot be i d e n t i f i e d by c o n tr a c t .

In t h i s c a s e , only one nBM i s to be p re p a re d .

1. GENERAL IDENTIFICATION

This Information is intended for use of the Regional O ffice.

f* Question I.f. is used to assign 3 -d ig it contract numbers to sub 

s u b c o n tra c ts . Sub su b co n tracts should be numbered c o n s e c u tiv e ly , 

s ta r tin g with the number immediately following the h ig h est c o n tra c t 

number p re v io u s ly a ssig n e d on the MAgent W o rk sh eet.” Care should 

be taken to avoid assignment of duplicate numbers.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
I # GENERAL IDENTIFICATION

a . FHA P r o j e c t No. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

b . C o n tr a c t No* _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

c . Name and a d d re ss o f p r o je c t

d . Name, a d d r e s s , and telephone o f c o n tr a c to r /s u b c o n tr a c to r

e. Record of contacts with contracto r/su b co n tracto r

Date of v i s i t Person contacted F ield R epresentative

f . (Ask only su b co n tracto rs.) Did any sub subcontractor perform any operations 

f o r you f o r t h i s c o n tra c t? I f so , who did th e work, what o p e r a t io n ( s ) d id 

he perform , and what was the value of h is contract?

Contract

number

Name, a d d re s s , and telephone 

of sub subcontractor

Sub subcontract 

operation

Value of 

sub subcontract

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The fo llo w in g codes a re n e c e s s a ry fo r computer p ro c e s s in g *of th e s c h e d u le .

>fFHA P r o je c t No,tf - The "F1IA p r o je c t number” i s copied from the A form 

to a l l th e c o rresp o n d in g B forms fo r the p r o j e c t ,

" C o n tra c t No.” - The 3 - d i g i t " c o n tr a c t number" i s d i f f e r e n t fo r each B 

form w ith in a p r o je c t. Enter the number which uniquely id e n t if i e s th is 

c o n tr a c t (and t h i s B form) and which was a ssig n e d to i t on the "Agent 

Worksheet" or in question I.f. o f a s u b c o n tr a c t o r ’s B form.

"Major O peration Code" - E nter "01" to id e n t if y the general c o n tr a c t .

Enter the "contract operations code" (see contract operations code list) 

f o r each prime o r s u b c o n tr a c t. When a s in g le s u b -c o n tra c t in v o lv e s more 

than one contract operations code, code for the operation th at accounts 

for the g rea test p art of the contract value, excluding any operation 

th at has been sub subcontracted.

"C o n tra c t No. o f C o n trac t fo r Which Work Was Done" - Leave t h i s b lan k f o r 

the general and prime co n tracts. Otherwise, enter the code of the contractor 

who l e t the s u b c o n tr a c t . I f , fo r example, t h i s i s the B form fo r c o n tr a c t 

number 012, which was a s u b c o n tra c t l e t by the g en eral c o n tr a c to r (who i s 

always id e n tif ie d by co n tract number 001), your e n trie s should be:

Contract

No.

( I f sub or sub subcontract) 

C o n tra c t No. o f c o n tr a c t 

fo r which work was done 0 1 0 I 1

0 1 1 1 2

I f , however, th is 

s u b c o n tr a c t l e t by

i s the B form fo r c o n tr a c t number 043, which was a 

subcontractor 012, then your e n trie s should be:

Contract

No.

( If sub or sub subcontract) 

C ontract No. of c o n tra c t 

fo r which work was done 0 1 1 |2

01 A 13

I I . CONTRACT AMOUNT

The c o n tra ct amount should r e f le c t a l l change orders which took place 

d u rin g c o n s tr u c ti o n . When d e te rm in in g the c o n tr a c t amount, exclude any 

items (such as land and land development) which were also excluded from 

question II.a. o f A form.

The c o n tra c t amounts for the general and a l l the prime c o n tr a c ts , when 

added together, should equal the p ro ject contract amount recorded in 

question II.a. o f the A form.

When a c o n tr a c t o r l e t s a s u b c o n tr a c t, in clu d e the v alu e o f t h a t subcont r a c t on the B form o f both c o n tr a c t o r s .

Round to whole d o lla rs ,

I I I . CONTRACT OPERATIONS— See page 6

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
FllA

P roject

No.

Contract

No.

Major

operation

code

1 1 1 1 I . U - i . 1 ... ...I,..,.

(If sub or sub subcontract) 

C o n trac t No. o f c o n tr a c t 

for which work was done

I I . CONTRACT AMOUNT

What was the f in a l c o n tra c t amount, in clu d in g 

a l l change orders? (Round to whole d o lla rs )

I I I . CONTRACT OPERATIONS

Which op eratio n s are covered by th is contract?

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I I I . CONTRACT OPERATIONS

Id e n tify a l l the operations which were covered by the co n tract being 

scheduled. I f a c o n tr a c to r l e t a su b c o n tra c t fo r p a r t of the o r i g i n a l 

c o n tr a c t , in d ic a te only the c o n t r a c t o r 's o p e ra tio n s on h is B form and 

r e p o r t the s u b c o n tra c t o p e ra tio n s on the s u b c o n tr a c to r 's B form. A ll 

c o n tr a c t o p e ra tio n s completed during c o n s tru c tio n o f a p r o je c t must be 

r e f l e c t e d on a t l e a s t one B form fo r the p r o j e c t .

IV. HEAVY EQUIPMENT

Code a l l heavey equipment used o n - s ite fo r the c o n tr a c t. Exclude small 

t o o l s , hand o r power, since these c o s ts should be recorded under " m a t e r i a l s . " 

"Heavy equipment" re fe rs to large co n stru ctio n equipment which ordinarily 

o u tliv e s any sin g le p ro je c t. The " re n ta l cost" you rep o rt should, th e r e ­

fo re , be le s s than the t o ta l co st of the equipment and should reflect 

only th a t p a rt of the to ta l value th a t was "used up" during work on the 

sample p ro ject.

Give each type of equipment the appropriate 3 -d ig it equipment code from 

the "M ate ria l and Equipment Code L i s t . " F i r s t use the a lp h a b e ti c a l index 

to the SIC manual to determ ine the a p p ro p r ia te 4 - d i g i t SIC code, and then 

vise the "M aterial and Equipment Code L i s t " to fin d the c o rresp o n d in g 

3 -d ig it code.

E n ter the r e n t a l c o st o r the d e p re c ia tio n (which can be e stim a te d by a 

" re n ta l co st eq u iv alen cy "). The "hours operated" can be om itted i f c o st 

figures are a v ailab le. I f , however, accurate cost estim ates are not 

a v a ila b le , e n te r the number of hours the equipment was used. The hours 

worked by the equipment o p e ra to r can sometimes be used to estim ato ^"hours 

operated."

For rented equipment, enter the actual ren tal cost here and the o p e ra to r's 

hours and pay under "labor requirem ents." O perator's wages should never 

be in clu d ed under "heavy equipm ent," even i f the equipment i s re n te d on a 

"fu lly operated" basis.

I f no heavy equipment was used fo r th is c o n tr a c t, w rite "none" under "type 

of equipment." I f additional space is needed, use the continuation sheet.

Round e n tr i e s to the n e a re s t hour or the n e a re s t whole dollar.

SAMPLE ENTRY

Type of equipment Equip.

code

Hours

operated Rental cost

Bulldozer 802 $% 0 100

101

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I I I . CONTRACT OPERATIONS— Continued

Hardwood f lo o r in g . .........................................

Linoleum, vinyl t i l e , and vinyl-asbestos t i l e

Ceramic t i l e .........................................••••• ...........• • •

C a r p e tin g ........................................ ...................................

Roofing and g u tte r work .............................................

Garage door .................................. .....................................

Ornamental iron work .................. .................................

Termite exterm ination ................................. ••••••••

C le a n in g ......... ............................................................. ••••

A sphalt paving ........................ ••••••.•••

Landscaping ..........................................................

O ther (specify)

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

IV . HEAVY EQUIPMENT

What ty p e s o f heavy equipment ( e . g . f c ra n e , t r a c t o r ) were used o n - s i t e , fo r t h i s 

c o n tr a c t? What were the nr e n t a l c o s t s ” o f re n te d equipm ent, o r th e " r e n t a l c o s t 

e q u iv a le n c ie s ” ( d e p r e c ia tio n ) f o r the time p e rio d d u rin g which owned equipment 

was used? ( I f re n ta l c o st cannot be estim ated , rep o rt in stead the number of 

hours the equipment was used o n - s ite .)

Type of equipment Equip.

code

Hours

operated Rental cost

$ 100

101

102

103

104

105

106

Total ren ta l cost of heavy equipment ............................................. ..

(Office use only)

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V. MATERIALS AND SUPPLIES

a . Enter the to ta l value of a ll m aterials and supplies used in con stru ctio n . 

Include sales tax. Exclude any contractor p ro fit or overhead. Also 

exclude the value o f m a te r ia ls and s u p p lie s the c o n tr a c to r may have used 

to c o n s tr u c t temporary b u ild in g s o n - s i t e ( s u p e r in t e n d a n t ' s sha^k; 

p ro ject d i r e c t o r s office, etc.).

The d e liv e re d , o n -site cost of m ate ria ls and supplies is the purchase 

price plus any costs th at the contractor accrued preparing and d eliv erin g 

those m aterials to the site. For example, a c o n tr a c to r may purchase 

s e m i- f a b r ic s te d m a te r ia ls and th e n , in h i s own shop, perform a d d it io n a l 

f a b r i c a t io n . The c o s t of t h i s a d d itio n a l f a b r ic a tio n should be in clu d ed 

in the to ta l value you rep o rt.

b. Use t h i s s e c tio n to d e s c r ib e , in d e t a i l , the different m aterials and 

supplies and th e ir o n -site cost th at are included in V.a.

When d e s c rib in g the m a t e r i a l s , make sure you in clu d e fo r each different 

m a te r ia l, (1) a d e s c rip tio n of the product and (2) the com position of 

the product (e.g., copper, iro n , p l a s t i c ) . The composition frequently 

determines the m aterials code th a t you assign to the product.

The c o rr e c t code fo r any m a te ria l or supply can be determ ined as 

fo llo w s: (1) c l a s s i f y the p roduct by 4 - d i g i t SIC (use the a lp h a b e t i c a l

index in your SIC m anual): (2) c ro ss re fe re n c e t h a t SIC code to your 

,fM a te ria ls and Equipment Code L i s t . ” M a te ria ls codes 088, 098, 198,

298, 398, 498, 598, 698, 798, 898, and 998 should be used only as a 

l a s t r e s o r t and only when a more d e s c rip tiv e code cannot be found.

D if f e r e n t p ro d u cts t h a t have the same m a te r ia ls code can be combined 

and rep orted on one line. I f you cannot e a sily determine the sales 

tax to be included for any sin g le e n try , re p o rt in stead the sa le s tax 

r a te . (The computer w ill use the ra te to adjust the cost figure you 

re p o rt.)

I f there are no m ate ria ls or supplies involved in a c o n tra c t, e n te r 

"none" in the d escrip tio n column of th is form.

I f ad d itio n al space is needed, use the continuation sheet for th is item. 

Round a l l cost fig u res to the n e a re st d o lla r.

Report m aterials and supplies in the g reatest d e ta il p o ssib le. For 

example, i f a c o n tracto r purchased $10,000.00 worth of concrete and 

s te e l p ip e, re p o rt each type of pipe s e p a ra te ly by m a te ria ls code 

and value.

SAMPLE ENTRY

Name and d e s c r i p t i o n 

of m ate ria l

M aterial

code Matcri.nl cost

Percent of 

sales tax to 

he added

Concrete pipe m 2 $4275 _ . 4 .5 200

S teel pipe 502 $5725 4.5 201

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a . What was the t o t a l d e liv e re d , o n - s ite c o st 

of m aterials and supplies for th is cont r a c t, excluding overhead and p ro fits? . . .

b . What m a te r ia ls were used on t h i s c o n t r a c t , were any p r e f a b r i c a t e d , 

and what was the d e liv e re d , o n -site co st of each?

32

Name and d e s c r i p ti o n 

of m aterial

M aterial

code M aterial cost

Percent of 

sales tax to 

be added

$ 200

201

202

203

20A

205

206

207

208

209

210

211

212

213

21A

215

216

217 ..

218

219

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Notes:

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V . MATERIALS AND SUPPLIES— C o n tin u e d

Name and d e s c r ip tio n 

of m aterial

M aterial

code M aterial cost

Percent of 

sales tax to 

be added

220

221

222

223

224

225

226

227

228

229

230

231

232

233

234

235 _

236

237

238

i

539__

___240

241

242

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a . Complete th is question for a ll co n tracts.

b. I f complete p a y ro ll rec o rd s a re a v a il a b l e from FHA fo r o n - s i t e occupat i o n s , sk ip V I.b . I f no in fo rm a tio n i s a v a il a b l e from FRA, complete 

t h i s s e c tio n fo r a l l o n - s i t e jo b s. I f one o r more o f the c o n t r a c t o r ’s 

p a y ro lls a re m issin g from the FHA f i l e , e n te r the m issin g p a y ro ll d ata 

in V I.b . I f F1IA p a y r o lls do not l i s t a l l o n - s i t e o c c u p a tio n s , complete

VI.b. for any other o n -site workers, esp ecially workers in occupations 

no t covered by FHA/WHPC r e p o r tin g re q u irem e n ts.

When equipment i s r e n te d on a ,!f u l l y o p e ra te d ” b a s i s , reco rd the 

o p e r a to r ’s wages in V I.b.

Under ’’o ccu p atio n c o d e ,” e n te r the code number (see Job L i s t 1 and 2) 

th at best describes the occupation being reported.

The p a y ro ll period ending date fo r an a rra y of data r e l a ti n g to the 

same pay p e rio d need be e n te re d on ly once and on the f i r s t l i n e o f 

p ertin en t data. I f aggregate data are reported, enter the ending 

data of the la s t pay period included in the aggregate data.

Under the ’’m an-hours” column, e n te r t o t a l hours worked ( s t r a i g h t time 

plus o v e rtim e ). Round to a whole number. Record only the man-hours 

a c t u a l l y worked. Do not in clu d e man-hours fo r h o lid a y s , paid v a c a t io n s , 

sick leave, annual leave, e tc .

Under ’’e a rn in g s r e l a t e d to h o u r s , ” e n te r gross pay b efo re any d e d u c tio n s 

fo r f e d e r a l o r s t a t e income ta x , em ployees’ s o c ia l s e c u r i t y t a x e s , 

em ployees’ h e a l t h , w e lf a r e , o r r e tire m e n t payments, e t c . Exclude from 

gross pay any payments the c o n tr a c to r made to FICA, in s u ra n c e , v a c a tio n 

and pension funds, e tc . Exclude pay for holidays, vacations, sick 

leave, annual leave, e tc . Also exclude subsistence-allow ances and 

tra v e l allowances (except when tra v e l time is paid a t the w o rk er’s 

hourly pay r a te ).

The fo llo w in g i s an example o f an e n tr y fo r 2 employees who worked 

40 and 48 hours and who earned $160 and $200 r e s p e c t i v e l y .

SAMPLE ENTRY

Occupation

code

Payroll period 

ending date Hours Earnings

rela te d to hours

010 10 / 5 / 70 40 $160 600

o n / / 48 $200 601

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a. Did th is c o n tracto r have a labor agreement 

covering any of the work performed on

t h i s c o n tra c t? ...........................................................

Code

33

1 .- Yes 

2 - No

b. Complete the follow ing for any o n - s ite labor not alread y r e f le c te d on the 

p a y r o lls f i l e d w ith the FHAf ( e . g . , m issin g p a y r o l l s , hours and e a rn in g s 

o f exempt employees who performed o n - s i t e work but who a re n o t s u b je c t 

to FHA r e p o r tin g req u irem e n ts).

Occupation

Code

Payroll

endin

period 

E date Hours Earnings 

related to hours

____ / / 600

/ / 601

/ / 602

. L. / 603

......... / / 604

/ / 605

J / 606

_ / / 607

/ / 608

/ /

609

____ J / 610

/ /

611

/ / 612

/ / 61?

/ / 614

/ / 615

/ /

616

/ / 617

Total earnings .................................. ....................

(Office use only' )

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A s e p a r a te B form must be completed fo r each c o n tr a c t l e t on the sample 

p r o j e c t . When a c tu a l d ata fo r a c o n tr a c t cannot be o b tain e d because o f 

r e f u s a l s , o u t- o f - b u s in e s s , e t c . , data w i l l have to be e stim a te d f o r th a t 

c o n t r a c t . See T ec h n ic a l Memorandum P-1 fo r guidance about how to 

estim ate for m issing data.

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VI. LABOR REQUIREMENTS— Continued

Occupation

code

Payroll period 

ending date Hours Earnings 

related to hours

/ / 618

/ / 619

/ / 620

/ / 621

/ / 622

/ / 623

/ / 624

/ / 625

/ / 626

/ / 627

V I I . SCHEDULE STATUS

a . (To be completed only by a g e n t.) Is t h i s a

complete B form f o r t h i s c o n tra c t? ................

Code

1. Yes

2 . No

b. I f "no," please explain:

34

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BLS 2 6 5 2 .01C O f f ic e Qf Management and 

B u d g e t No. AAR1381 

Approval expires: 12-31-72

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR 

Bureau of Labor S t a t i s t i c s 

Washington, D.C. 20212

AGENT WORKSHEET

SURVEY OF

CONSTRUCTION LABOR REQUIREMENTS 

FOR

MULTI-FAMILY HOUSING

The Bureau o f l.abor Stall st ie s

will hold till information [urnt s h e d by the re s f o n d m i in

strict confidence.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

This form is for agent and Regional Office use only. This document w ill not 

be keypunched and w ill not be transm itted to the Washington O ffice.

Use t h i s w orksheet to re co rd in fo rm atio n about the c o n tr a c ts and c o n tr a c to r s 

a s s o c i a t e d w i t h a sample p r o j e c t . . . i n f o r m a t i o n u s u a l l y a v a i l a b l e from l o c a l 

FHA O f f i c e s a n d / o r a p r o j e c t ’s G e n e r a l C o n t r a c t o r . A l s o , u s e i t t o a s s i g n 

t h e Mc o n t r a c t num ber” you w i l l n e e d i n o r d e r t o code t h e "B" form f o r a n y 

given co n tract.

I n f o h n a t i o n s e c u r e d from FHA O f f i c e s and r e c o r d e d on t h i s form s h o u l d be v e r i f i e d 

a n d , i f n e c e s s a r y , s u p p l e m e n t e d when you c a l l on t h e G e n e r a l C o n t r a c t o r f o r a 

p r o j e c t . Be c a r e f u l a b o u t l i s t i n g ’’m a t e r i a l s u p p l i e r s . ” T h i s t e r m o f t e n 

a p p e a r s on FHA o r G e n e r a l C o n t r a c t o r r e c o r d s and may r e f e r t o a c o n t r a c t o r ' s 

so u rce o f su p p ly r a t h e r th an to a c o n t r a c t o r to th e p r o j e c t .

A ’’C o n t r a c t o r ” may be d e f i n e d a s f o l l o w s ;

G e n e r a l C o n t r a c t o r - The p e r s o n o r o r g a n i z a t i o n who a c c e p t s a c o n t r a c t from 

th e p r o j e c t d ev e lo p e r and who o r g a n i z e s , s u b c o n t r a c t s and o v e rs e e s a l l o r 

n e a rly a l l c o n stru c tio n performed on the p r o je c t.

Prime C o n t r a c t o r - L ike th e G e n e r a l C o n t r a c t o r , a c c e p t s a c o n t r a c t from th e 

p r o j e c t d e v e lo p e r. However, a Prime C o n tr a c to r o r g a n i z e s , s u b c o n t r a c t s , and 

oversees only one aspect ( e .g ., plumbing; v e n tila tio n ) of construction.

S u b c o n t r a c t o r - The p e r s o n o r o r g a n i z a t i o n who a c c e p t s a c o n t r a c t from th e 

General Contractor or Prime Contractor. Subcontracts are usually lim ited to 

one or a few c o n s tr u c tio n a c t i v i t i e s .

S u b - S u b c o n t r a c t o r - A c c e p ts a c o n t r a c t from a S u b c o n t r a c t o r t o perforin p a r t o f 

the work specified in the subcontract.

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a. FRA P r o j e c t No. _ _ _ _ _ _ _

b . Name an d a d d r e s s o f p r o j e c t

I I . FRA INFORMATION

a. Name, a d d r e s s , a n d t e l e p h o n e o f FRA O f f i c e

b . R e c o r d o f c o n t a c t s w i t h FRA O f f i c e

Date of v i s i t Person contacted F ield R epresentative

I I I . GENERAL CONTRACTOR IDENTIFICATION

Record the name, address, and telephone number of the general c o n tra c to r, 

the contract operations which he performed, and the value of the general 

c o n t r a c t . Use ,:0 0 1 ” t o i d e n t i t y t h e g e n e r a l c o n t r a c t o r on t h e B l o r n .

Contract

number

Name, a d d r e s s , and telep h o n e 

of general contractor

Contract

operations

Value of 

g e n e r a ] 

con t:ra c t

001

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Record the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of the prime contractors,- 

the operations which each performed and the value of each prime co n tract.

Use t h e c o n t r a c t num bers " 0 0 2 ” t h r o u g h " 0 1 0 " t o i d e n t i f y t h e prim e c o n t r a c t o r s 

on t h e B f o r m s .

Contract

number

Name, a d d r e s s , and te lep h o n e 

of prime contractor

Contract

operations

Value of.

prime 

c o n t r a c t

002

003

004

005

006

007

008

009

010

Notes:

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For each subcontract performed on the p ro je c t, l i s t the name, address, and 

telephone number of the subcontractor, the subcontract operations performed, 

and the value of each subcontract. In order to id e n tify each additional 

c o n t r a c t on t h e B f o r m s , a s s i g n c o n t r a c t numbers s t a r t i n g w i t h " O i l , ” a nd 

c o n s e c u t i v e l y number u n t i l a l l s u b c o n t r a c t s a r e i d e n t i f i e d w i t h a d i s t i n c t 

number.

(The corresponding sub subcontract inform ation is recorded in question I.f. 

o f t h e B fo rm o f t h e s u b c o n t r a c t f o r w hic h t h e w ork was d o n e . C o n t i n u e 

n u m b e r in g t h e s u b s u b c o n t r a c t s so t h a t e a c h c o n t r a c t h a s a d i s t i n c t n u m b e r . )

Contract

number

Name, a d d r e s s , and telephone 

of subcontractor

Contract 

o p e r a t i o n s

Value of 

subcontract

Oil

012

013

014

015

016

017

018

019

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Contract

number

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1-

Name, a d d r e s s , and te le p h o n e 

, of subcontractor

Contract

operations

Value of 

s u b - ^ 

contract

\

1

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r -

Contract

number

Name, a d d r e s s , and t e l e p h o r e 

of subcontractor

i

Contract

operations

Value of 

subcontract

..... I

\

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Not.es

C .PO 8 2 5—497

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Appendix C. Bibliography

The following are publications in the series of construction labor requirements studies by the Office of 

Productivity and Technology, Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Civil works construction

Labor and Material Requirements for Civil Works Construction by the Corps o f Engineers (BLS Bulletin 1390), 

1964, 28 pp.

A statistical study of onsite and offsite employee-hour 

and wage requirements for dredging and land projects in the 

U.S. Corps of Engineers’ civil works program from 1959 to 

1960.

College housing construction

Labor and Material Requirements for College Housing

Construction (BLS Bulletin 1441), 1965, 34 pp.

A survey of 43 college housing projects which were 

administered by the Community Facilities Administration. 

The survey is designed primarily to determine the employee-hours required per $1,000 of college housing construction.

Miller, Stanley F., “Labor and Material Required for 

College Housing,” Monthly Labor Review, September 

1965, pp. 1100-04.

A summary of BLS Bulletin 1441.

Federally aided highways

Ball, Robert, “Labor and Materials Required for Highway 

Construction,” Monthly Labor Review, June 1973, 

pp. 40-45.

Discussion of labor and material trends in highway 

construction between 1958 and 1970.

Labor and Material Requirements for Construction o f

Federally-Aided Highways, 1958,1961, and 1964 (BLS 

Report 299, 1966), 17 pp.

Study providing measures for 1958, 1961, and 1964 of 

the labor and material requirements for federally aided 

highways, with separate measures of the requirements for 

onsite and offsite construction. For onsite construction, the

study also provides a comparison of annual labor requirements for 1947—64.

Kutscher, Ronald E. and Waite, Charles A., “Labor Requirements for Highway Construction,” Monthly Labor

Review, August 1961, pp. 858-61.

Summary of findings of the 1958 highway survey.

Wakefield, Joseph C., “Labor and Material Requirements: 

Highway Construction, 1958 and 1961,” Monthly Labor

Review, April 1963, pp. 394-98.

A summary comparison of the 1958 and 1961 highway 

surveys.

Federal office building construction

Labor Requirements for Federal Office Building Construction (BLS Bulletin 1331), 1962, 43 pp.

A statistical study of onsite and offsite labor requirements for constructing 22 Federal office building projects 

in various localities of the United States over a 3-year 

period from the fall of 1957 to 1960.

Murray, Roland V., “Labor Requirements for Federal 

Office Building Construction,” Monthly Labor Review,

August 1962, pp. 889-93.

A summary of BLS Bulletin 1331.

Hospital construction

Labor Requirements for Hospital Construction (BLS Bulletin 1340), 1962,46 pp.

A statistical study of onsite and offsite labor requirements for construction of selected public and private, profit 

and nonprofit, general hospitals in various localities of the 

United States between mid-1958 and mid-1959.

Rothberg, Herman J., “Labor Requirements for Hospital 

Construction, 1959—60,” Monthly Labor Review, October 1962, pp. 1120-24.

A summary of BLS Bulletin 1340.

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Labor and Material Requirements for Hospital and Nursing

Home Construction (BLS Bulletin 1691), 1971, 50 pp.

A study similar to the one done in 1962 but with data 

shown per square foot as well as per $ 1,000 of construction 

contract. Covers hospitals and nursing homes constructed in 

1965-66.

Riche, Martha Farnsworth, “Man-hour Requirements Decline in Hospital Construction,” Monthly Labor Review,

November 1970, page 48.

Summary of BLS Bulletin 1691.

Private multifamily housing construction

Ball, Robert, “Labor and Material Requirements for Apartment Construction,” Monthly Labor Review, January 

1975, pp. 70-73.

Summarizes the first construction labor requirements 

study of private multifamily housing construction.

Private single-family housing construction

Labor and Material Requirements for Private One-Family

House Construction (BLS Bulletin 1404), 1964, 37 pp.

A statistical study of onsite and offsite labor requirements for constructing a sample of one-family houses built 

in 1962 in various localities of the United States.

Rothberg, Herman J., “Labor and Material Requirements 

for One-Family Houses,” Monthly Labor Review, July 

1964, pp. 797-800.

A summary of BLS Bulletin 1404.

Labor and Material Requirements for Construction o f

Private Single-Family Houses (BLS Bulletin 1755), 1972, 

30 pp.

Updates Bulletin 1404.

Ball, Robert and Ludwig, Larry, “Labor Requirements for 

Construction of Single-Family Houses,” Monthly Labor

Review, September 1971, pp. 12—14.

Summary of a study of labor and material requirements 

for single-family housing construction in 1969.

Public housing construction

Labor and Material Requirements for Public Housing

Construction (BLS Bulletin 1402), May 1964,42 pp.

A report based on findings of a survey of 31 public 

housing projects which the Public Housing Administration 

administered. Projects were selected in various States to

represent four broad geographic regions of the conterminous United States.

Finn, Joseph T., “Labor Requirements for Public Housing,” 

Monthly Labor Review, April 1972, pp. 40—42.

Summary of a study of labor requirements for public 

housing construction in 1968.

School construction

Labor Requirements for School Construction, (BLS Bulletin 1299), 1961, 50 pp.

A study of primary and secondary employee-hours 

required per $1,000 of new school construction based on 

contracts awarded for 85 elementary and 43 junior and 

senior high schools throughout the United States.

Epstein, Joseph, and Walker, James F., “Labor Requirements for School Construction,” Monthly Labor Review, July 1961, pp. 724—30.

A summary of BLS Bulletin 1299.

Labor and Material Requirements for School Construction,

June 1968 (BLS Bulletin 1586), 23 pp.

A survey of selected elementary and secondary public 

schools constructed primarily during 1964—65. In addition 

to providing information on labor requirements, the study 

also includes data on the types and value of materials used, 

wages paid, occupations, and use of apprentices.

Finn, Joseph T., “Labor Requirements for School Construction,” Monthly Labor Review, August 1968, pp. 

40-43.

A summary of BLS Bulletin 1586.

Sewer works construction

Labor and Material Requirements for Sewer Works Construction (BLS Bulletin 1490), 1966, 31 pp.

Study designed to measure the total employee-hours of 

labor required for each $1,000 of new sewer facilities 

construction contract. The basis for this study was 138 

contracts for new sewer work in the years 1962—63.

The following are studies related to the construction 

labor requirements series.

Ball, Claiborne M., “Employment Effects of Construction 

Expenditures,” Monthly Labor Review, February 1965, 

pp. 154-58.

A summary of labor requirements for eight types of 

construction broken down by offsite and onsite hours, by 

occupation, and by region.

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Ball, Robert, “The Contract Construction Industry,” Technological Trends in Major American Industries (BLS 

Bulletin 1474), 1966, pp. 32-38.

Discusses economic trends in the industry with emphasis 

on the impact of technological change on employment, 

occupations, job skills, and productivity.

“Construction Labor Requirements,” reprint of Chapter 28 

of Handbook o f Methods for Surveys and Studies (BLS 

Bulletin 1711), 1971.

Description of techniques of construction labor requirements studies.

Mark, Jerome A., and Ziegler, Martin, “Measuring Labor 

Requirements for Different Types of Construction,” 

Paper before the Conference on the Measurement of 

Productivity in the Construction Industry, sponsored by 

the National Commission on Productivity and the 

Construction Industry Collective Bargaining Commission, September 14, 1972, Washington, D. C.

Discussion of the BLS program of labor and material 

requirements and analysis of the potential of using data

from the program to measure productivity by type of 

construction.

Weinberg, Edgar, Mechanization and Automation o f Building Site Work, National Response Paper for the Economic Commission for Europe, Committee on Housing, 

Building, and Planning, Third Seminar on the Building 

Industry, Moscow, October 1970.

Discussion of current technology and labor requirements 

at the construction site.

Weinberg, Edgar, “Reducing Skill Shortages in Construction,” Monthly Labor Review, February 1969, pp. 

3-9 .

Discussion of methods for reducing occupational shortages.

Ziegler, Martin, “BLS Construction Labor Requirements 

Program,” paper before the North American Conference 

on Labor Statistics, San Juan, Puerto Rico, June 1971.

Construction labor requirements program and objectives 

are discussed.

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tcmTate MAJOR

WlTM: COLLECTIVE

A basic reference source showing how 

negotiators in different industries handle ' 

specific problems, complete with 

illustrative clauses identified by the 

company and union signatories, and 

detailed tabulations on prevalence of 

clauses.

Based on an analysis of about 1800 

major agreements, 15 bulletins dealing 

with key issues in collective bargaining 

have been completed by the Bureau of 

Labor Statistics.

ORDER FORM

Check the

Publication Bulletin Date of

Desired Title Number Publication Price

Grievance Procedures.......................................................

Severance Pay and Layoff Benefit Plans............................

Supplemental Unemployment Benefit Plans and

Wage-Employment Guarantees.......................................

Deferred Wage Increase and Escalator Clauses................

Management Rights and Union-Management Cooperation.

Arbitration Procedures.......................................................

Training and Retraining Provisions....................................

Subcontracting....................................................................

Paid Vacation and Holiday Provisions................................

Plant Movement, Transfer, and Relocation Allowances

Seniority in Promotion and Transfer Provisions..................

Administration of Negotiated Pension, Health, and

Insurance Plans...............................................................

Layoff, Recall, and Worksharing Procedures.....................

Administration of Seniority..................................................

Hours, Overtime and Weekend Work ..............................

Major Collective Bargaining Agreements:

1425-1............ ...........1964 ............... .............. $ 1.45

1425-2............ ...........1965 ............... .............. 1.80

1425-3............ ...........1965 ............... .............. 1.80

1425-4............ ...........1966 ............... .............. 1.10

1425-5............ ...........1966 ............... .............. 1.35

1425-6............ ...........1966 ............... .............. 2.40

1425-7............ ...........1969 ............... .............. 1.05

1425-8............ ...........1969 ............... .............. 1.10

1425-9............ ...........1969 ............... .............. 1.90

1425-10........... ...........1969 ............... .............. 1.55

1425-11........... ...........1970 ............... 1.25

1425-12........... ...........1970 .............. ............ 1.00

1425-13........... ...........1972 ............... .............. 1.75

1425-14........... ...........1972 ............... .............. 1.25

1425-15 ......... ...........1974 ............. ............ 1,45

Total for all 15 Bulletins ...............................................................................................................................................$22.20

To order, check the bulletins wanted 

above, and mail with payment, to your nearest 

Bureau of Labor Statistics regional office. 

MAKE CHECK PAYABLE TO 

SUPERINTENDENT OF 

DOCUMENTS. Prices of Government 

publications are subject to change.

Regional Office

Bureau of Labor Statistics

U.S. Department of Labor

1603 Federal Building, Boston, Mass. 02203 

1515 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10036 

P.O. Box 13309, Philadelphia, Pa. 19101 

1371 Peachtree Street, N.E., Atlanta, Ga. 30309 

230 S. Dearborn Street, Chicago, III. 60604 

911 Walnut Street, Kansas City, Mo. 64106 

555 Griffin Square Building, Dallas, Texas 75202 

450 Golden Gate Ave., San Francisco, Calif. 94102

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BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS

REGIONAL OFFICES

Region I

1603 JFK Federal Building

Government Center

Boston, Mass. 02203

Phone: (617) 223-6761

Region II

Suite 3400

1515 Broadway

New York, N.Y. 10036

Phone: (212) 399-5405

Reaion III

3535 Market Street

P.O. Box 13309

Philadelphia, Pa. 19101

Phone: (21 5) 596-1154

Region IV

1371 Peachtree Street, NE.

Atlanta, Ga. 30309

Phone: (404 ) 526-5418

Region V

9th Floor

Federal Office Building

230 S. Dearborn Street

Chicago , III. 60604

Phone: (312) 353-1880

Region VI

Second Floor

555 Griffin Square Building

Dallas, Tex. 75202

Phone: (214) 749-3516

Regions V II and V III*

911 Walnut Street

Kansas City, Mo. 64106

Phone: (816) 374-2481

Regions IX and X * *

450 Golden Gate Avenue

Box 36017

San Francisco, Calif. 94102

Phone: (415) 556-4678

Regions VII and VIII are serviced by Kansas City 

Regions IX and X are serviced by San Francisco

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