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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
LABOR AND

MATERIAL

REQUIREMENTS

FOR

SCHOOL

CONSTRUCTION

J U N E 1 9 6 8

B L S B u lletin 1586

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS

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P reface

This study of labor and m aterial requirem ents for the construction of schools 

is one of a series which the Bureau of Labor Statistics have made of various types of 

construction that might be affected by future governm ental action. It is sim ilar to an 

earlier study of school construction made in 1959. Other previously published studies 

include highways, F ederal office buildings, hospitals, civ il works activities of the 

Arm y Corps of Engineers, public housing, private one-fam ily dwelling units, college 

housing, and sew er works construction.

These studies are made by the Bureau*s O ffice of Productivity, Technology and 

Growth under the general direction of Jerom e A. Mark, {Assistant C om m issioner for 

Productivity, Technology, and Growth. The study was directed by James F. W alker. 

Henry Renten was responsible for the collection of data.

The Bureau gratefully acknowledges the cooperation of the Housing and Home 

Finance Agency for making available much of the data on federally-aided school 

pr ojects.

1X1

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CONTENTS

Page

I n t r o d u c t i o n ...................................................................................................................................................... 1

Nature of s u r v e y ............................................................................................................................................ 1

L im itation s of the d a t a ............................................................................................................................... 1

G en eral s u rv e y f i n d i n g s ............................................................................................................................ 1

C o m p a r is o n of sa m p le s ........................................................................................................................... 3

Changes in o n -s it e m a n -h o u r r e q u i r e m e n t s .................................................................................. 4

O n -site m a n -h o u r r e q u i r e m e n t s ........................................................................................................... 5

R e q u ire m e n ts by o ccu pa tion .............................................................................................................. 5

C on tra ctors* s h a r e s ...................................................................................................................................... 5

O n -site w a g e s ................................................................................................... 7

C o n stru ctio n t i m e ......................................................................................................................................... 7

A ffect on other i n d u s t r i e s ........................................................................................................................ 7

M a teria ls u s e d ............................................................................................................................................... 7

Appendix. S cope and m eth od of S urvey ............................................................................................ 22

Survey c r i t e r i a ......................................................................................................................................... 22

M a n -h o u r e s t i m a t e s ............................................................................................................................... 22

A re a d e f i n i t i o n ......................................................................................................................................... 2 3

Tables:

1. N u m ber and c o s t of su rv e y e d s c h o o l co n s tr u c tio n p r o je c t s , by

s e le c te d c h a r a c t e r is t ic s and re g io n , 196 4-65 ...............................................

2. O n -site m an-hour requ irem en ts for school con struction p ro je cts ,

by s e le c te d c h a r a c t e r is t ic s and re g io n , 1964-65 ............................................... 10

3. O n -s ite m a n -h o u r re q u ir e m e n ts p er $1,000 of s ch o o l c o n s tr u c tio n

by p r o p o r tio n of lo w e r skilled la b o r e m p lo y e d and re g io n , 1 9 6 4 -6 5 . . . 1 1

4. P ercen t distribution of school p ro je cts, by number of on -site m an-hours

required for each $1,000 of construction contract, by region,

1 964-65 11

5. O n -s it e m a n -h o u r re q u ir e m e n ts p e r $1,000 of s ch o o l co n s tr u c tio n

co n tr a c t, by o ccu p a tio n and re g io n , 1 964-65 ......................................................... 12

6. P e rce n t of a p p ren tices em p loyed on sch ool con stru ction p ro je c ts

occu p a tio n and by re g io n , 1 964-65 ............................................................................. 1 3

7. A v e r a g e n u m ber of c o n t r a c t o r s p er s c h o o l co n s tr u c tio n p r o je c t ,

by c o s t group and re g io n , 1964-65 ............................................................................. 14

8. P ercen t of total on -site m an-hour requirem ents for sch ool construction,

by type of contractor and region, 1964-65 ............................................................ 14

9. A verage o n -site earnings on sch ool con stru ction p r o je c ts , by selected

c h a r a c t e r is t i c s and re g io n , 1 964-65 .......................................................................... 15

I V

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C O N TE N 1 -------Continued

Page

10. A verage number of weeks required for construction of school, by cost

group and re g io n , 196 4-65 ............................................................................................. 16

11. P ercen t of on -site em ploym ent for school construction in each tenth of

total co n s tr u c tio n tim e , by re g io n , 1 964-65 ......................................................... 17

12. Total m an-hour requirem ents per $1,000 of school construction,

1 96 4-65 ........................................................................................................................................ 18

13. Total cost of m aterial com ponents for each $1,000 of school

construction contract, by region, 1964-65 .......................................................... 19

Charts:

1. D istribu tion of 189 m a n -h o u r s fo r ea ch $1,000 of s c h o o l co n s tr u c tio n

c o n tr a c t, 1 96 4-65 ................................................................................................................. 2

2. P ercen t distribution of on -site wages and m aterials used for each

$1,000 of s c h o o l co n s tr u c tio n co n tra ct, 1964-65 ............................................... 6

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Public s ch ool con struction was ch osen as 

the first in this series of studies because of 

the p r e s sin g need fo r new c la s s r o o m s at the 

tim e. It was selected fo r restudy because of 

its continuing importance in total expenditures for new construction that can be 

affected greatly by governm ental action. The 

changes in total labor requirem ents and 

occupational m ix , as w ell as changes in m a ­

terials used in school construction during 

the 5 yea r p e rio d since the fir s t study, p r o ­

vided added justification for the recent 

survey. Expenditures for educational construction, both private and public, have ris e n 

steadily fo r many yea rs and totaled over $6 

billion in 1966. It is second only to highways 

in public construction outlays.

Nature of Survey

This study is based on a su rvey of.selected 

elementary and secondary public schools 

constructed prim arily during the period 

1964-65. Data were collected from 103p r o jects, selected from the four broad geographical regions of the U.S.1_/

The study was designed prim arily to 

determine the total m an-hours of em ployment req u ired for a fixed dollar volum e 

($1,000) of school construction. Man-hours, 

as defined for the survey, include both onsite construction employment and off-site 

em ploym ent required to produce and deliver 

the materials used in school construction.

In addition to providing inform ation on 

m an-hours, the study also includes data on 

the types and value of m a terials used, wages 

paid, occupational distribution, and use of 

apprentices.

Results of the studies are being used to 

evaluate changes in costs and to attempt to 

m e a su re the changes in output per m an -h ou r 

for on-site construction workers between 

the two studies.

Introduction

\J F o r a m o r e detailed d escrip tion of 

method, and fo r a list of States included in 

each region, see appendix.

The planning, developing, and building of 

schools vary greatly among the various 

sch o o l sy s te m s , and a sam ple of p ro je c ts 

large enough to reflect all of the potential 

factors affecting some of the detail p re ­

sented would have been prohibitive.

There is no known bias in the sample s e ­

lection, but the number of projects studied 

was insu fficien t to insure a high d e g re e of 

accuracy for all of the estim ates published. 

The estimates on total employment, occu ­

pational distribution, and total shares of 

on-site wages and materials are believed 

to be accurate.

Certain types of employment possibly 

affected by school construction were not 

covered by the survey. No estim ates were 

made of the employment used in planning 

and designing the sch ools. Such expenditures 

also w ere not included in the contract costs 

studied. (See appendix.) Also excluded 

from the survey was the labor involved in 

installations made by public-utility em ­

ployees as well as any site preparation or 

landscaping work not covered by the con ­

struction contract.

Employm ent created by the respending of 

wages and p rofits--com m on ly called the 

multiplier effect--also was not considered 

within the scope of the study.

The p rin cip a l d ifferen ce between this and 

the earlier study was the inclusion in this 

study of estim ates of the em ploym ent effect 

of contractors* overhead. In presenting 

com parisons of the two studies, adjustments 

have been made to the earlier data to include these estimates.

Lim itations of the Data

General Survey Findings

A pproxim ately 198 m an-hours of labor 

were required for each $1,000 of school 

con stru ction in 1964-65, rep resen tin g a 

decline of about 16 p ercen t fro m the s im -

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Chart 1. Distribution of 189 Man-Hours for Each $1,000

of School Construction Contract, 1964-65

Off-site

Construction

22

Transportation,

Trade and Services t

38

Last Manufacturing

Stage

PRIMARY

MAN-HOURS

141

27

Other

Manufacturing

Transportation,

Trade and Services

6

All Other

Industries

SECONDARY

MAN-HOURS

48

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR . BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS

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ilar study conducted in 1959. On-site em ­

ploym ent also d ecrea sed 16 percent, fro m 

86 to 72.3 m an-hours. 2 ]

A com parison of man-hour requirements 

for the two studies is shown below.

The com parison of m an-hours per $1,000 

of construction reflects changes in construction prices and shifts in types of

schools in addition to changes in labor r e ­

quirem ents per unit of school construction. 

Unfortunately, a good deflator to re m o v e the 

effect of price change from value changes is 

not available for the construction industry. 

Although an attempt is made in the study to 

provide both a representative sample of 

schools in both periods and also to match 

the sample of schools for the two periods, 

the latter objective could not be realized 

in all characteristics.

Man-hours Per $1,000 of Contract

1964-65 1959

Number Percent Number Percent

Total man-hours-------------- 198 100 235 100

Construction-------------- 81 41 96 41

On-site ----------------- 72 36 86 37

Off-s i t e---- ----------- 9 5 10 4

Manufacturing ------------- 65 33 74 31

Trade, transportation and

services ------------- 37 19 46 20

All other industries — ^--- 15 7 10 4

1/ Includes 1 hour of indirect construction employment.

2 / A quality check on the earlier study 

indicates that the original estimate of 84 

hours was understated by about 2 hours. 

Adjustments also were made for off-site 

h ours, as a resu lt of a new input-out study 

(1958 interindustry data), and the inclusion 

of an estim ate co v e rin g the c o n t r a c t o r ’ s 

overhead expenditures. The revised total 

employment for the 1959 study was 235 

hours per $1,000 of contract. This co m ­

parison must be qualified as must other 

com parisons because of the lack of strict 

matching of project with sim iliar characteristics between the two studies. Nevertheless, they are useful as indicators of the 

gen eral change which has taken p la ce in this 

time period.

As a result, the com p a rison s of square 

footage cost which follow do reflect some 

differences in characteristics. This does 

not obviate the conclusion of the relative 

stability in square footage cost over the two 

periods since to a very appreciable extent 

the schools com pared were sim ilar. M oreover, the findings need not be inconsistent 

with the appearance of price changes for 

school construction which could affect c e r ­

tain types of schools in certain localities 

in selected regions.

Comparison of Samples

In general the sch ools surveyed in the 

m ore recent period were larger and had 

m o r e c la s s r o o m s . A ls o a greater p r o p o r ­

tion of them had air conditioning, audito3

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rium s and gymnasiums. However, the 

schools in both surveys showed the same 

proportion of space utilized for n on-classroom purposes. The accompanying table 

indicates som e of the ch a ra cte r is tics of the 

schools in each study.

Characteristics

(Average) 1964-65 1959

Floor space (1000

square fe e t )--------------- 60.0 51.4

Cost per square fo o t---- $ 14.16 $ 14.16

Number of classrooms---- 24.6 21.0

In both studies the la rg e r p ro je c ts were 

m ore costly per square foot, but the d iffe rence was sm aller in the m ore recent study.

There were no significant changes in the 

relationship of square foot costs by types 

of structure. In general, square foot co st 

differentials tended to narrow in all c o m ­

parisons except by region.

Changes in On-site Man-hour Requirements

1. M an-hour req u irem en ts per square 

foot of school construction decreased from 

1.19 in 1959 to 1.02 in 1964-65.

Cost per classroom-------- $ 34,500 $ 35,000

Construction c o s t ---------- $850,000 $730,000

Although there was no change in cost for 

the average school from the first to the 

second study, variations in construction 

costs were observed in com paring type of 

school and other building characteristics 

(See table 1.)

Square foot and classroom costs increased for elem entary schools and d ecre a s e d for secondary schools from 1959 to 

1964-65.

Square foot cost increased in the Northeast and West and rem ained about the same 

or d e cr e a se d in the North Central and South. 

In the e a rlie r study square foot costs were 

higher in m etropolitan areas but in the 

latter study the differences were small and 

not consistent.

2. The total value of m a terial put in place 

per m an-hour in cre a se d about 16 p ercen t 

during the same period. Some of this gain 

possibly is due to the increased use o fp r e - 

fabricated materials.

3. M an-hour requ irem en ts per $1,000 of 

con tract w ere 16 p ercent low er, indicating 

a reduction of about 2.75 p ercen t a year 

(com pounded during the 5 — 1 /2 year p eriod .)

4. The proportion of on -site wages to 

total contract costs remained about the 

same (around 26 percent) between the two 

p e rio d s , despite an in crea se of 16 p ercen t 

in average hourly earnings.

O n-site labor requirem ents in the 1964-65 

study declined in each of the four broad 

regions, but costs per square foot between 

the regions varied both in level and trend.

Square :foot costs

Man-hour

requirements

Decreases in 

man-hour

1959 1964-65

per square foot 

1959 1964-65

requirements 

(Percent)

Northeast---------- 16.99 18.98 1.291 1.192 8.3

North Central---- 13.67 13.55 1.129 .957 15.2

South------------------- 12.11 11.56 1.199 1.025 14.5

West-------------------- 14.25 15.53 1.149 .955 16.9

All schools -------- 14.16 14.16 1.189 1.024 13.8

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On-site Man-hour Requirements

On-site man-hour requirements varied 

considerably betw een projects, but over half 

of the projects studied had m an-hour r e ­

quirements (per $1,000 of construction), 

ranging from 55 to 75. Most of the p rojects 

having higher man-hour requirements were 

in the South and North Central regions.

In general, differences in m an-hour r e ­

quirements between projects and specific 

groups of projects narrowed. The m ost significant change in relationships from the 

p rev iou s study o c c u r r e d in the s m a lle r p r o j ­

ects. In the ea rlie r study, sm aller projects, 

including m ost of the elem entary schools, 

had m uch higher labor re q u ir e m e n ts % per 

$1,000 of con tract. In the m o r e re ce n t study, 

size of project did not appear to be a significant fa cto r, and elem en tary sch ools as a 

group actually had lower labor requirem ents. It should be noted that only a few 

very small projects (under $200,000) were 

included in the m ore recent study.

The increased efficiency in the sm aller 

projects was not evident in the nonm etropolitan areas. Man-hour requirements in 

nonm etropolitan a reas w ere over 15 p ercent 

higher than those in m etropolitan areas. In 

the earlier study, this difference, on the 

a v e ra g e , was le s s than 6 p ercen t.

When on-site labor requirements are 

co m p a re d on a square foot b a sis, the d ifferences between projects and specific 

groups of projects are much sm aller. Twothirds of the projects had labor requirements between 0.8 and 1.2 man-hours per 

square foot.

As in the earlier study, on-site man-hour 

requirements were related to three m ajor 

fa ctors: (1) availability and use of la b o rsaving equipment, such as cranes, elevators, and conveyors; (2) amount of prefabricated components; and (3) proportion of 

skilled workers.

Table 3 shows the m a n -h ou r r e q u ir e ­

ments of projects according to the p roportion of lower skilled workers used. Labor

requirem ents w ere 60 percent greater for 

p r o je c ts having 45 p e rce n t or m o r e of their 

total man-hours in lower skill occupations 

than for projects with 25 percent or less in 

those categories.

Requirements by Occupation

Changes in the occupational distribution 

between the two studies were insignificant 

and m ore or less predictable. D ecreases in 

the proportion of plasterers, lathers, and 

ornamental iron w orkers, and increases in 

operating engineers, sheet metal workers, 

and tile setters w ere typical of occupational 

trends in building construction.

The m o s t im portant job n u m e rica lly c o n ­

tinued to be ca rp e n te rs, in spite of a 12 

p ercen t d e c r e a s e in their share of the w ork. 

Many carpenters perform ed jobs not connected with lumber as they have developed 

skills in materials which have replaced 

lumber.

L ow er skilled -jobs continued to rep resen t 

about 30 p ercen t of the occupational work 

force. Although the proportion of lower 

skilled workers declined in the Northeast, 

North Central, and Western regions during 

the interim between the two surveys, the 

Southern reg ion em p loy ed a higher p e r c e n t ­

age of these workers in 1964-65 (43.4 p e rcent) than in 1959 (40.3 percent).

Form al apprentices represented 4.1percent of the w ork f o r c e , an in c re a s e ov er the 

3.7 percent reported in 1959. Electricians 

accounted for the largest proportion of apprentices, 15.1 percent. M ost of the trades 

had higher p rop ortion s of app ren tices w o r k ­

ing than in the earlier study. Apprenticeship 

program s were m ost evident in the West.

Contractors* Shares

The trend toward subcontracting continues, and the general contractor's share 

of total em ploym ent (in m a n -h o u r s) declin ed 

from 47.4 percent in 1959 to 42.0 percent 

in the later study. The la r g e s t in c re a s e was 

in masonry subcontracting (see table 8). 

Subcontracting increased in all regions, but

5

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Chart 2. Percent Distribution off On-Site Wages

and Materials Used for Each $1,000

off School Construction Contract,1964-65

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR • BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS

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the increased use of subcontractors was 

m o st pronounced in the North C entral region.

The average number of subcontractors 

p e r p r o je c t in c re a s e d fr o m 1 9 in 1959 to 26 

in the 1964-65 study. Part of this increase 

was due to the greater size of the projects, 

since larger projects almost inevitably involve m ore subcontractors.

On-site Wages

Average wage rates for on-site labor 

advanced over 16 p ercen t between the two 

studies. This increase in worker earnings, 

however, did not alter the relationship of 

wage payments to total contract costs, 25.8 

p e rce n t in 1964-65 com p a red with 25.7 p e r ­

cent in 1959. In cre a se d wages in the industry 

have been offset by low er m a n -h ou r r e q u ir e ­

m en ts, to the extent that o n -site wages are a 

sm aller proportion of the contract dollar 

than they w ere 30 yea r s ago (31.1 percent). 3 / 

O n-site wages in m ore than half of the p r o ­

je c ts studied in the m o r e recen t su rvey (55.6 

percent) fe ll into a v e r y n a rro w range, b e ­

tween 22.6 and 27.5 percent of the contract 

dollar.

The proportion of on-site wages was 

fairly consistent among specific groups of 

projects regardless of wage levels. (See 

table 9.) P rojects with higher wage rates 

required less man-hours (per $1,000 of 

contract).

It should be noted that the wage inform ation presented in this report does not 

include m any co s ts which m ight be co n s id ­

e re d labor co s ts . F o r exam ple p a y ro ll ta x e s , 

w o rk m e n ’ s com pen sation , fringe benefit 

costs. These items were not studied, but it 

can be assumed safely that such costs have 

increased m ore proportionately, than wage 

rates.

Construction Time

The average school project studied r e ­

quired 52 weeks fro m the beginning of the

3 / A ccording to an unpublished study of 

public works projects in the late 1930’ s.

contract to its completion. As can be e x ­

pected, construction time varied by size of 

p roject and geographical location. Construction time was generally comparable to 

the earlier study and no significant red u ction was observable by project size and 

region. (See table 10.)

When construction time for each project 

was divided into deciles, it was shown that 

a m a jo rity of the w ork f o r c e (53.5 percent) 

is em ployed fr o m the 4th through the 7th 

deciles. F or the typical project, only 4.3 

percent of the employment occurs in the 

fir s t 5 weeks and only 3.5 p e rce n t in the 

last 5 w eeks. Peak em ploym ent is reach ed 

in the sixth 5-week period, when 14.6 p e r ­

cent of the total m a n -h ou rs are w orked. (See 

table 11.)

Affect on Other Industries

Employment generated in manufacturing 

industries f r o m s ch o o l con struction runs a 

c lo s e secon d to the num ber of jobs o ccu rrin g 

in the con stru ction industry. L a bor requ ire - 

m ents per $1,000 of s ch ool con stru ction total 

82 m an-hours in the construction industry 

and 65 in manufacturing; alm ost one-third 

of the total labor requirem ents is fulfilled 

by the manufacturing sector. (See table 12.) 

About 38 of these hours would be in the last 

stage of manufacturing, and the balance in 

other manufacturing plants supplying those 

manufactures, directly or indirectly.

The total employment effect is felt in 

all sectors of the econom y. The trade sector 

accounts fo r about 11 p ercen t of the total 

hours and transportation industries over 4 

percent. Service industries are increasing 

their share of em ploym en t p articipation and 

in the latest study accounted fo r ov er 3 p e r ­

cent of all jobs.

Materials Used

A little over 54 percent of each contract 

dollar was spent for m aterials, supplies, 

and equipment. Nearly half of this was for 

two m ajor groups of materials: stone, clay, 

and glass p rod u cts, $1 30 (out of e v e r y $1,000 

of contract); and metal products, $134.60.

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Major items in these two groups were 

ready-m ix concrete, $32.90; brick and 

structural tile, $19.60; structural steel, 

$32.70; and reinforcing bars and joists, 

$28.30. 4 /

Lum ber and lum ber products were valued 

at $50.90; m illw ork represents the m ajor 

item in this group.

Heating and ventilating equipment, including air conditioning, totaled $51.90 and 

other electrical equipment and m aterials, 

$52.90. Plumbing products totaled $39.

The total m aterial expenditure was about 

2 p e rce n t lo w e r than the e a r lie r study. C o m ­

parisons of individual times were difficult 

because of changes in classification and 

other re a so n s.5 /

Some changes in material requirements 

were notable. Air conditioning, which was 

rare in the earlier study, was reported in 

27 p e rce n t of the p ro je c ts studied and r e p r e ­

sented $9.20 in material purchases. Uses of 

precast concrete products increased. Other

4 / C u rrently, there is about $6 billion a 

year being spent on educational construction, both public and private. This indicates 

expenditures for materials in this area is 

$3.25 billion (at the site valuation). The 

$28.30 expenditure fo r re in fo rcin g bar s and 

jo is ts , for exam ple, rep resen ts a current 

annual requirement of over $100 million in 

these items alone.

5 / Comparisons of material usage b etween the two studies are difficult and 

frequently misleading. The m ajor reasons 

are:

significant gains included the use of acou stical tile, vinyl asbestos tile, laboratory 

equipment, kitchen equipment, and folding 

partitions. D e c re a se s w ere noted in the use 

of asphalt tile, metal windows, and ornamental iron.

The reduction in window glass was probably attributable to a greater use of p r e ­

glazed windows, plus a d e cre a s e in the 

number and size of windows generally 

associated with air conditioning. The 

apparent reduction in copper products was 

due to definitional changes in the standard 

industrial classification, and the reduction 

in temperature controls was due to cla ssification in greater detail of their com ponents.

Some of the changes in m a te ria l r e q u ir e ­

m ents w ere even greater when view ed on a 

regional basis. Nearly all of the a ir-co n d itioned sch ools w ere loca ted in the South and 

West. A relatively large expenditure for 

shop equipment was made in the North 

Central region. Increased expenditures for 

fixed school equipment were noted in all 

areas.

1. D iffe re n ce s in cla ss ifica tio n to a c ­

com modate the 1947 input-output matrix 

used in the 1959 study, and the 1958 inputoutput m atrix used in the 1964-65 study,

2. Changes in p r ic e s which can make it 

appear that the volum e of a sp ecific m a terial has changed when in fact the change is 

due to price increases or decreases.

3. Introduction of n e w m aterials or 

equipment, such as air conditioning, which 

tends to reduce the relative dollar value of 

all other items.

8

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Table 1. Number and Cost of Surveyed School Construction Projects, by Selected Characteristics and Region, 1964-65

United States Northeast North Central South West

Characteristic

Cost per Cost per Cost per Cost per Cost per

Number Square

foot

Classroom

(thousands)

Number Square

foot

Classroom

(thousands)

Number Square

foot

Classroom

(thousands)

Number Square

foot

Classroom

(thousands)

Number Square

foot

Classroom

(thousands)

All Schools...................... 103 $14,16 $34,5 18 $18.98 $43.7 27 $13.55 $34.9 34 $11.56 $28.6 24 $15.53 $35.9

Elementary............ ....... 53 14,31 26.3 9 17.73 33.3 14 12.62 22.9 18 12.82 23.8 12 15.43 27.6

Secondary.......... .......... 50 14.09 40.3 9 19.63 51.3 13 13.95 43.6 16 11.08 31.4 12 15.59 43.5

In a metropolitan area..... . 62 14.56 33.8 12 18.69 44.8 15 13.20 28.6 21 11.76 28.0 14 15.89 37.1

Not in a metropolitan area..... 41 13.68 35.5 6 19.44 42.0 12 13.89 43.5 13 11.40 29.1 10 14.48 32.7

Construction cost group

(In thousands):

$500,000 and under.......... 43 • 12.61 23.6 3 14.56 20.3 11 13.18 22.3 21 11.71 24.3 8 14.02 24.5

$500,001 to $1,000,000...... 28 14.22 31.2 6 17.86 35.2 8 11.51 28.1 5 12.49 27.8 9 15.59 33.1

$1,000,001 and over......... 32 14.69 42.2 9 19.81 52.0 8 14.66 47.3 o 11.31 31.7 7 16.12 46.3

Type of framing:

Steel....................... 39 15.32 37.2 11 18.64 46.1 10 13.36 35.5 13 12.24 26.1 5 16.26 37.0

Concrete.............. . 19 13.84 37.9 1 (1/) <l/> 5 14.30 47.0 10 11.65 28.5 3 14.68 42.9

Load-bearing masonry......... 40 12.73 29.2 6 17.44 31.1 12 13.04 25.7 11 11.23 30.0 11 14.12 30.2

Wood.................... . 5 19.46 44.1 — -- — --- — — --- — -- — — 5 19.46 44.1

1 story....................... 84 13.87 32.4 13 18.91 39.0 20 13.36 32.4 29 11.34 28.1 22 15.83 34.5

2 to 4 stories................ 19 14.86 40.6 5 19.07 51.6 7 13.89 40.1 5 12.32 30.1 2 (1/) a/)

Full or partial basement.... . 11 14.80 42.2 1 (1 / ) (1/) 2 <I/> ( I / ) 3 12.07 31.4 5 14.71 43.6

No basement......... ......... 92 14.07 33.6 17 18.39 42.0 25 13.78 34.8 31 11.52 28.4 19 15.94 33.3

Exterior:

Masonry................... 89 13.90 34.9 15 18.99 45.9 26 13.62 36.4 31 11.49 28.8 17 14.52 34.2

Curtain wall........... . 8 16.48 26.4 3 18.83 30.8 1 a / > (1/) 2 (1/) d / ) 2 (i/) a/)

Other........ .............. 6 17.38 39.3 1 <i/) (1/) 5 19.35 41.7

1/ Too few projects to warrant presentation.

Digitized for FRASER 

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Table 2. On-Site Man-Hour Requirements for School Construction Projects, by Selected Characterisitcs and Region, 1964-65

United States Northeast North Central South West

Characteristics

Man- hours per Man -hours per Man -hours per Man--hours per Man-hours per

$1,000

of

cost

1,000

square

feet

Classroom

$1,000

of

cost

1,000

square

feet

Classroom

$1,000

of

cost

1,000

square

feet

Classroom

$1,000

of

cost

1,000

square

feet

Classroom

$1,000

of

cost

1,000

square

feet

Classroom

All schools................... 72.3 1,024 2,495 62.8 1,192 2,743 70.6 957 2,462 88.7 1,025 2,535 61.5 955 2,209

Elementary................. 66.9 957 1,757 59.3 1,051 1,976 67.1 847 1,539 80.1 1,027 1,906 57.9 894 1,597

Secondary.................. 74.8 1,055 3,014 64.5 1,266 3,306 71.9 1,003 3,137_.__92.4 1,024 2,903 63.5 990 2,761

In a metropolitan area.... 67.6 985 2.283 61.6 1,151 2,757 63.8 842 1,825 83.1 977 2,330 62.5 993 2,317

Not in a metropolitan area. 78.3 1,072 2,779 64.7 1,258 2,721 76.7 1,066 3,389 93.4 1,065 2,717 58.2 843 1,901

Construction cost group

(In thousands):

$500,000 and under..... 73.5 926 1,730 64.0 932 1,302 67.0 883 1,495 83.9 982 2,039 58.3 817 1,426

$500,001 to $1,000,000.. 66.6 946 2,076 60.1 1,073 2,118 70.5 811 1,978 86.0 1,074 2,390 58.0 904 1,919

$1,000,001 and over.... 74.1 1,089 3,126 63.7 1,263 3,313 71.7 1,051 3,391 91.7 1,037 2,906 64.8 1,045 3,001

Type of framing:

Steel................... 67.1 1,028 2,495 63.9 1,192 2,947 70.7 944 2,507 80.1 980 2,091 52.3 862 1,932

Concrete................ 77.5 1,073 2,940 61.7 1,563 3,876 75.3 1,077 3,540 84.1 980 2,394 77.9 1,444 3,342

Load-bearing masonry.... 76.6 979 2,239 58.9 1,028 1,832 64.5 841 1,656 95.4 1,071 2,858 60.5 854 1,828

Wood.................... 58.7 1,143 2,588 — . . . --- —

— — — — — 58.7 1,1^3 2,588

1 story.................... 71.1 987 2,301 60.6 1,145 2,362 68.3 913 2,213 89.2 1,012 2,512 57.8 915 1,966

2 to 4 stc^ies............. 75.1 1,117 3,051 65.6 1,251 3,386 74.5 1,034 2,989 86.8 1,069 2,609 82.9 1,176 3,924

Full or partial basement... 69.0 1,021 2,908 61.7 1,563 3,876 74.7 869 2,675 75.2 907 2,364 68.2 1,002 2,970

No basement................

72.8 1,025 2,445 62.9 1,157 2,646 70.2 968 2,444 89.7 1,034 2,547 58.4 931 1,944

Exterior:

Masonry................. 73.7 1,025 2,573 63.3 1,203 2,908 70.7 963 2,573 89.8 1,032 2,587 62.8 912 2,147

Curtain wall............ 59.9 987 1,584 58.3 1,099 1,795 66.9 702 690 64.6 1,002 1,583 56.6 936 2,180

Other................... 61.2 1,064 2,403 — — — — — — 80.2 772 2,157 58.8 1,138 2,451

Digitized for FRASER 

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Table 3. On-Site Man-Hour Requirements Per $1,000 of School Construction

by Proportion of Lower Skilled Labor Employed 1/ and Region, 1964-65

Percent o f lower 

s k ille d workers

United

States

North

East

North

Central South West

A ll occupational grou ps..

25.0 and u n d e r . . . . . . . . .

25.1 to 3 5 .0......................

35.1 to 4 5 .0......................

45.1 and o v er ....................

72.3 62.8 70.6 88.7 61.5

61.8

71.9

86.3

99.2

62.0

64.3

66.0

76.7 75.1 

86.3

99.2

57.0

70.8

— For purposes o f th is comparison, la b orers, h elp ers, and

tenders were considered lower s k ille d .

Table 4. Percent D istrib u tion o f School P r o je c ts , by Number o f On-Site 

Man-Hours Required fo r Each $1,000 o f Construction C ontract,

by Region, 1964-65

United North North

Percent group States East Central South West

Average man-hours................ 72.3 62.8 70.6 88.7 61.5

Under 5 5 .0 ........................... 10.1 8.5 3.3 36.6

55.0 to 6 4 .9...................... 31.5 57.6 36.7 7.8 42.3

65.0 to 7 4 .9...................... 24.1 33.9 34.4 14.7 18.3

75.0 to 8 4 .9...................... 18.5 — 22.2 34.5 2.8

85.0 to 9 4 .9...................... 7.4 — 3.3 19.0 —

95.0 and o v er .................... 8.3 - - - - - - 24.1 - - -

NOTE: Because o f rounding, sums o f in dividu a l items may

not equal 100.

11

Digitized for FRASER 

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Table 5. On-Site Man-Hour Requirements Per $1,000 of School Construction Contract, by Occupation and Region, 1964-65

Occupation — ^

United States Northeast North Central South Wes t

Man-hours

worked Percent

Man-hours

worked Percent

Man-hours

worked Percent

Man-hours

worked Percent

Man-hours

worked Percent

All occupations................ 72.3 100.0 62.8 100.0 70.6 100.0 88.7 100.0 61.5 100.0

General supervisors........ 2.3 3.2 2.0 3.2 2.3 3.2 2.6 2.9 2.2 3.6

Professional, technical,

and clerical............. .3 .4 .8 1.2 --- ... .2 .3 . 1 .2

Asbestos workers........... .6 .9 .6 1.0 .9 1.3 .5 .6 .5 .8

Bricklayers................. 6.7 9.2 6.5 10.3 8.7 12.3 7.3 8.2 3.3 5.4

Carpenters.................. 11.9 16.5 10.1 16.1 10.7 15.2 12.9 14.6 14.0 22.8

Cement finishers........... 1.4 1.9 1.1 1.8 1.3 1.9 1.5 1.7 1.4 2.3

Electricians................ 5.3 7.3 5.4 8.7 5.6 7.9 5.0 5.6 5.2 8.4

Glaziers.................... .5 .6 .5 .8 .6 .8 .5 .5 .3 .5

Lathers..................... .7 1.0 .8 1.3 .7 1.0 .7 .8 .7 1.2

Operating engineers........ 2.0 2.7 1.7 2.6 1.8 2.5 2.4 2.7 2.2 3.5

Ornamental-iron workers.... .4 .5 .6 .9 .5 .6 .2 .3 .3 .5

Painters.................... 2.5 3.5 2.2 3.5 2.5 3.5 2.8 3.1 2.5 4.0

Plasterers.................. .7 1.0 .7 1.0 .6 .8 .9 1.0 .8 1.3

Plumbers.................... 7.0 9.6 6.9 11.0 8.0 11.4 6.5 7.3 6.4 10.4

Reinforcing iron workers.... .7 .9 .3 .5 1.1 1.5 .6 .7 .6 .9

Roofers..................... 1.0 1.4 1.0 1.5 1.3 1.8 .9 1.0 1.0 1.7

Sheet-metal workers........ 2.5 3.4 2.0 3.1 3.2 4.6 1.8 2.0 3.2 5.3

Soft floor layers.......... .4 .6 .4 .6 .4 .6 .4 .4 .5 .8

Structural-iron workers.... 1.2 1.7 1.8 2.8 1.4 2.0 .9 1.1 .8' 1.2

Terrazzo workers and

tile setters............. .9 1.3 1.2 1.9 1.1 1.6 .9 1.1 .4 .7

Truck drivers.............. .5 .6 .2 .4 .5 .7 .5 .5 .7 1.1

Laborers.................... 17.2 23.8 12.2 19.4 11.9 16.9 30.2 34.1 10.4 16.9

Helpers and tenders........ 5.1 7.1 3.3 5.2 5.2 7.4 7.6 8.6 3.3 5.4

Custodial workers.......... . 1 .2 .2 .3 (2/) (2/) .2 .2 (2/) (2/)

Other....................... .5 .7 .4 .6 .3 .5 .6 .6 .6 .9

•I^Working foremen and apprentices are included with journeymen.

.2/Less than 0.05 percent.

NOTE: Because of rounding, sums of individual items may not add to totals.

Digitized for FRASER 

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Table 6. Percent of Apprentices Employed on School Construction Projects

Occupation and by Region, 1964-65 1/

Occupation

United

States

North

East

North

Central South West

A11 workers • • • • ................ • • • 4.1 3.6 4 .4 3.5 5.6

S k illed trades o n ly ......... 6.6 5.1 6.2 6.5 8.1

B r ick la y e rs ......................... 5.8 9.6 6.1 3 .0 6.7

C arpen ters........................... 4.6 3.9 1.6 4.8 6.2

Cement fin is h e r s ................ 1.5 .6 2.3 ( 2 /) 4.1

E le c tr ic ia n s .................. 15.1 14.3 10.4 16.7 16.8

G la zie rs ................................. 5.6 9.3 — 5.5 6.5

Lathers................................... 8.0 2.0 .8 8.2 19.7

Ornamental-iron workers. .5 — — 1.4 —

P a in ters................................. 4.8 3.3 9.8 2.8 5 .0

P la s te r e r s ............................ 7.2 .4 — 10.9 8.5

Plumbers................................. 8.9 2.3 11.6 11.1 8.6

R ein forcin g-iron

workers. • .......................... 1.6 — — 1.7 3.7

R o o fe r s .................................. 4.5 7.5 5.5 3 .4 2.8

Sheet-metal workers......... 13.2 2.4 14.0 14.9 16.9

S oft flo o r la y e rs.............. 5.9 3 .4 9 .0 1.8 10.2

S tru ctu ra l-iron workers. 1 .0 — — .9 5 .0

Terrazzo workers and

t i l e s e tt e r s .................... 2.8 - - - 4.9 4 .4 — — —

U Based on data from fe d e ra lly aided sch ool p ro je cts on ly. 

i=/Less than 0.05 percen t.

13

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Table 7. Average Number of Contractors Per School Construction Project

by Cost Group and Region, 1964-65

Cost group United North North

(in thousands) States East Central South West

A ll groups.............................. 26 27 27 21 33

$500,000 and u n d e r .,... 22 22 23 19 28

$500,001 to $1,000,000. 25 23 24 23 30

$1,000,001 and o v e r .... 33 34 36 23 49

Table 8. Percent o f Total On-Site Man-Hour Requirements fo r School 

C onstruction, by Type o f Contractor and Region, 1964-65

United North North

Type o f con tractor States East Central South West

A ll ty p es ................................. 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

General. ............................... 42.0 37.6 36.7 45.5 42.3

E le c t r ic a l........................ • 7.8 8.8 8.3 6.9 8.4

Masonry................................. 9.6 10.8 10.5 10.7 5.9

P a in tin g............................... 3.2 2.7 4 .0 2.8 3.6

P la sterin g and lath in g. 3.6 3.3 3 .0 4.1 3 .0

Plumbing and h e a tin g ... 14.8 14.0 17.1 13.5 16.2

Roofing and sheet

m e ta l................................ 3.1 3 .0 2.9 3.7 2.2

S ite preparation and

excavation...................... 2.9 4 .2 2.8 2.4 2.9

S tructu ral and

ornamental w o r k ...... 2.4 4 .4 3 .0 1.3 2.6

T ile and terrazzo work. 2.4 2.6 2.8 2.3 1.9

A ll other typ es................ 8.3 8.5 8.9 6.8 10.9

14

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Table 9. Average On-Site Earnings on School Construction Projects, by Selected Characteristics and Region, 1964-65

United States Northeast North Central South West

Characteristics

Average

hourly

earnings

Wages as a

percent of

contract

Average

hourly

earnings

Wages as a

percent of

contract

Average

hourly

earnings

Wages as a

percent of

contract

Average

hourly

earnings

Wages as a

percent of

contract

Average

hourly

earnings

Wages as a

percent of

contract

All schools.... .................. $3.57 25.8 $4.18 26.2 $3.86 27.2 $2.70 23.9 $4.27 26.3

Elementary..................... 3.77 25.2 4.29 25.4 4.02 27.0 2.88 23.1 4.49 26.0

Secondary...................... 3.48 26.1 4.1-3 26.6 3.80 27.3 2.62 24.3 4.16 26.4

In a metropolitan area.;...... 3.87 26.2 4.41 27.2 4.16 26.5 2.87 23.8 4.32 27.0

Not in a metropolitan area..... 3.23 25.3 3.83 24.8 3.63 27.9 2.56 24.0 4.10 23.9

Construction cost group

(In thousands)

$500,000 and under.......... 3.40 25.0 3.93 25.2 4.09 27.4 2.79 23.4 4.41 25.7

$500,001 to $1,000,000...... 3.79 25.2 4.23 25.4 3.76 26.5 2.70 23.3 4.32 25.1

$1,000,001 and over......... 3.54 26.3 4.17 26.6 3.83 27.5 2.65 24.3 4.20 27.2

Type of framing:

Steel......... .............. 3.82 25.7 4.03 25.8 3.87 27.3 2.95 23.7 4.60 24.0

Concrete..................... 3.49 27.1 (2/) (2/) 3.66 27.5 2.84 23.9 3.90 30.4

Load-bearing masonry........ 3.24 24.8 4.17 24.6 4.14 26.7 2.52 24.0 4.11 24.9

Wood......................... 4.74 27.8 -- -- 4.74 27.8

i./ Includes data on both federally aided and non-federally aided projects.

— I Insufficient data to warrant presentation.

Digitized for FRASER 

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Table 10. Average Number of Weeks Required for Construction of School,

by Cost Group and Region, 1964-65

United North North

Cost group States East Central South West

A11 groups•••••••••........... 52 62 51 49 50

$500,000 and u n d e r ,.• •• 40 36 40 41 39

$500,001 to $1,000,000. 52 58 48 52 49

$1,000,001 and o v e r .... 71 76 74 63 76

16

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Table 11. Percent o f On-Site Employment fo r School C onstruction in Each Tenth o f Total

C onstruction Time, by Region, 1964-65

Region

1st

tenth

2nd

tenth

3rd

tenth

4th

tenth

5 th 

tenth

6 th 

tenth

7th

tenth

8 th 

tenth

9 th 

tenth

Last

tenth

United S ta te s .................... 4.3 8.2 10.2 12.0 12.9 14.6 14.0 11.7 8.6 3 .5

N ortheast...................... 3.6 4.9 8 .0 11.8 13.7 15.5 14.9 13.1 10.7 3.7

North C en tra l............. 5.1 8.6 9.1 11.1 11.7 13.1 14.4 13.8 9.2 3.8

South............................... 4.0 8.8 10.7 13.0 13.3 14.5 14.0 11.0 7.5 3.1

W est.................................. 4.9 9.3 11.7 10.6 12.2 15.0 13.0 10.5 8.8 4.1

1/ Based on data from fe d e ra lly aided sch ools on ly.

NOTE: Because o f rounding, sums o f in dividu a l items may not equal 100.0.

Digitized for FRASER 

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Table 12. Total Man-Hour Requirements Per $1,000 of School

Construction, 1964-65

Industry sector

Total

man-hours

Primary

man-hours

Secondary 

| man-hours

A ll s e c t o r s ................................... 198.0 144.2 j 53.7

O n-site co n stru ctio n ........... 72.3 72.3

O ff-s it e co n stru ctio n ......... 9.8 9.0 .8

A g r ic u ltu r e ,. ......................... 2.6 .2 2 .4

M ining.......................................... 3.2 .7 2.5

Manufactur in g .......................... 64.9 37.7 27.1

Lumber produ cts.................. 5.5 3.0 2 .4

Fu rn iture............................... 2.3 2.1 .2

Paper....................................... 2.5 .9 1.6

P rin tin g ................................. 1.1 — 1.1

Chemical.................................

Stone, clay, and glass

1.7 .2 1.5

p rodu cts............................. 11.7 9.3 2.4

Primary m etals....................

Fabricated metal

9.5 2.3 7.2

produ cts............................. 13.0 10.2 2.8

Machinery............................... 5.2 2.7 2.5

E le c tr ic a l produ cts......... 5.1 3.0 2.1

Instrum ents.......................... 1.8 1.4 .4

Other and u n a llo ca te d ... 5.5 2.6 2.9

T ran sportation........................ 8.3 3.8 4.6

Trade............................................ 22.0 17.3 4.7

S e rv ice s ..................................... 6.5 1.1 5.4

O ther............................................ 8.4 2.2 6.2

NOTE: Because of rounding, totals may not equal sums of individual

items.

18

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Table 13. Total Cost of Material Components for Each $1,'

Selected products and product groups

All products

Stone, clay, and glass products................

Cement, concrete, and gypsum products.........

Ready-mix concrete..........................

Concrete block..............................

Precast concrete products...................

Gypsum products.............................

Cement......................................

Concrete pipe...............................

Miscellaneous aggregate.....................

Structural clay products......................

Brick and structural tile...................

Ceramic tile................................

Clay sewer pipe.............................

Terrazzo....................................

Other stone, clay, and glass products.........

Sand and grave1.............................

Accoustical tile 1 / .........................

Fiber glass products, except accoustical tile

Window glass................................

Cut stone...................................

Asphalt tile................................

Metal products (except plumbing and heating)....

Fabricated structural metal products..........

Structural steel............................

Reinforcing bars and joints.................

Fabricated sheet metal......................

Metal windows...............................

Metal doors.................................

Ornamental metal............................

Registers, grills, diffusers...............

Wire mesh...................................

Other fabricated metal products...............

Builder's hardware..........................

Other metal products..........................

Partitions, lockers, and shelves............

Copper products.............................

Aluminum sheet metal........................

Galvanized sheet metal......................

See footnote at end of table.

of School Construction Contract, by Region, 1964-65

United

States Northeast

North

Central South West

$542.00 $495.90 $569.30 $567.50 $523.90

$130.00 $113.20 $139.80 $154.00 $101.30

71.40 64.20 70.90 86.80 57.30

32.90 31.00 30.00 38.90 30.20

14.10 15.00 19.30 13.40 7.20

10.80 7.10 9.30 21.00 1.60

5.10 5.10 3.70 4.80 7.40

5.00 3.30 4.80 5.20 7.00

1.50 .40 2.50 1.20 2.00

1.30 1.80 .70 1.40 1.50

27.50 24.60 31.20 35.40 14.00

19.60 17.30 20.50 26.90 9.80

5.00 6.20 4.50 5.90 2.60

1.50 .30 3.40 1.20 1.20

1.30 .80 2.70 1.00 .40

31.20 24.30 37.60 31.80 30.00

8.40 4.70 12.00 7.80 9.30

7.80 5.90 8.10 8.10 9.10

6.00 5.20 7.40 6.00 5.00

3.70 3.00 4.50 3.40 3.90

2.20 2.70 3.10 2.10 .40

1.70 .70 1.50 3.00 1.10

134.60 119.60 147.70 149.20 113.70

100.70 90.40 109.10 116.40 78.60

32.70 35.80 32.40 35.50 24.70

28.30 20.50 34.90 38.70 13.50

19.00 15.60 17.20 20.90 22.60

7.70 8.30 7.30 9.60 4.60

7.60 4.40 9.90 8.00 8.00

2.10 3.50 3.30 .40 1.60

1.90 .90 2.10 2.00 2.40

1.10 1.00 1.70 .90 .70

13.60 13.20 12.60 14.60 14.00

11.40 9.10 11.10 14.00 10.60

20.20 16.00 26.00 18.20 21.10

7.50 5.60 8.50 8.40 7.40

6.20 5.40 7.00 6.20 6.30

2.80 2.90 4.90 .70 3.00

2.60 1.50 4.60 1.80 2.90

Digitized for FRASER 

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Table 13. Total Cost of Material Components for Each $1,000 of

Selected products and product groups

Plumbing products......................

Plumbing fixtures....................

Steel and galvanized pipe............

Cast-iron pipe.......................

Valves and specialties...............

Pumps................................

Storage tanks........................

Heating and ventilating equipment......

Radiators, convectors, and boilers....

Unit heaters and ventilators.........

Air-conditioning equipment...........

Temperature controls.................

Blowers, exhaust, and ventilating fans 

Oil burners..........................

Electrical equipment, fixtures, and wire

Lighting fixtures....................

Switchboards and panelboards.........

Conduit............................ . .

Wire and cable.......................

° Intercom and fire alarm and sound....

Current-carrying wiring devices......

Noncurrent-carrying wiring devices....

Clock system.........................

Transformers.........................

Lumber and lumber products.............

Millwork.............................

Roughed dressed lumber...............

Wood fiber board.....................

Folding partitions and doors.........

Flooring.............................

Structural laminates.................

Plywood..............................

Petroleum products.....................

Asphalt paving.......................

Aspahlt and tar pitches..............

Asphalt felts........................

Gas, oil, grease, diesel fuel........

Fixed school equipment.................

Kitchen equipment....................

Laboratory equipment.................

Seats and built-in furniture.........

Chalkboards and tackboards...........

Shop equipment.......................

Metal cabinets.......................

See footnote at end of table.

Construction Contract, by Region, 1964-65 - continued

United

States Northeast

North

Central South West

$ 39.00 $ 37.90 $ 40.00 $ 38.30 $ 39.80

11.20 9.30 12.40 13.20 8.90

10.20 10.20 8.70 9.00 13.70

6.90 7.20 7.20 7.00 6.20

6.00 5.40 1 6.50 5.60 6.70

1.70 1.70 2.50 1.40 1.00

1.10 1.50 1.10 1.20 .50

51.90 48.80 54.00 56.40 46.40

17.70 19.30 22.70 13.60 15.60

11.40 12.40 6.40 13.80 13.10

9.20 2.40 8.30 16.60 7.40

7.30 7.40 9.20 6.60 5.70

4.20 3.10 5.60 4.30 3.60

1.40 3.40 .90 .90 .50

52.90 48.50 51.20 51.60 62.40

20.20 17.00 20.10 21.20 22.90

7.80 5.20 7.60 8.00 10.90

6.40 6.70 5.70 6.20 7.30

5.80 5.80 5. 10 5.70 7.00

5.20 7.00 4.40 3.80 6.10

2.40 1.40 3.00 2.00 3.30

1.60 .90 2.00 1.70 1.70

1.30 1.40 1.80 1.00 .90

1.10 1.20 .80 1.50 .60

50.90 42.90 46.10 48.50 70.60

21.50 16.60 17.70 26.30 25.00

12.00 12.10 7.20 7.30 25.40

6.20 3.20 10.10 7.50 2.90

4.30 4.40 5.70 2.80 4.60

2.60 3.20 2.30 3.00 1.50

2.20 2.00 1.70 — 6.40

1.90 1.00 1.30 1.40 4.70

12.30 11.50 12.80 12.70 11.90

5.20 4.20 6.50 4.20 6.20

3.00 3.00 2.80 3.60 2.60

2.90 3.20 3.00 2.90 2.60

1.10 1.10 .40 2.00 .50

36.60 40.00 50.20 26.80 29.90

12.70 14.20 18.30 10.60 6.80

6.60 10.70 7.60 4.10 3.70

5.00 3.50 9.30 2.30 5.40

4.40 4.10 4.80 4.70 4.00

2.60 1.90 6.40 — 1.80

2.10 1.20 1.80 2.10 3.70

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Table 13. Total Cost of Material Components for Each $1,000 of School Construction Contract, by Region, 1964-65 - continued

Selected products and product groups

United

States Northeast

North

Central South West

Paints and other chemical compounds................................ $ 5.20 $ 4.70 $ 5.80 $ 6.20 $ 3.60

Paints........................................................... 4.50 4.00 4.80 5.40 3.30

All other.......................................................... 28.50 28.90 21.80 23.80 44.30

Construction equipment........................................... 15.30 15.20 10.70 11.30 27.40

Vinyl asbestos tile.............................................. 4.40 4.50 4.80 3.70 4.80

Skylights........................................................ 1.00 1.20 .70 1.20 .90

i/ Includes all types of acoustical tile some of which does not belong in this general classification.

NOTE: Group totals include products not shown separately.

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APPEN D IX: SCOPE AND METHOD OF SURVEY

Survey C riteria

This study is based on data co v e rin g 103 

contracts for the construction of schools. 

Of these, 58 w ere fe d e r a lly -a id e d sch ool 

projects for which on-site payroll data were 

readily available. The remaining 45 schools 

were selected throughout the 48 contiguous 

States to give an optimum geographic d istribution. Both groups of schools were selected 

to give p ro p e r re p re sentation of four fa cto rs 

which were considered significant in manhour requirements. These were regional 

distribution, type of school (elementary or 

secon d ary ), d eg ree of urbanization, and size 

of project.

The projects were weighted to give fair 

representation of the above factors based 

on the distribution and characteristics of 

schools constructed in 1963.

Man-hour Estimates

Estimates of total man-hour requirements for school construction are derived 

by combining estim ates of on-site and offsite man-hours.

O n-site m an-hours for the federally - 

aided projects were obtained from payrolls 

submitted by the contractors under the p ro ­

visions of the D avis-Bacon Act. These were 

checked for com pleteness by interviews with 

the contractors and their subcontractor. 

Estimates were made for unobtainable 

m issing data. Man-hours for the other p ro jects were obtained by interview with the 

prim e contractor and his subcontractors. 

The contractors were also requested to furnish on-site employment data for occupations not covered by the D avis-Bacon Act, 

such as s u p e r v is o r y , technical, and c le r ic a l 

personnel, and self-em ployed subcontractors (working proprietors).

O ff-site man-hour requirements represent chiefly the hours required to produce 

and distribute the m aterials, supplies, and 

equipment used in the construction. E stim ation of these h o u r s , t h e r e fo r e , began with 

a listing of the value of all such item s. These

data were obtained by the BLS field re p re ­

sentative from the prim e contractor and his 

s u b co n tra cto rs. F or a rela tiv ely sm all n u m ­

ber of subcontractors who were out of 

business or otherwise inaccessible, uncooperative, or whose contracts were exceedingly small, estimates of materials used 

were prepared on the basis of reports for 

sim ilar jobs. Approximately 3000 contractors were contacted to obtain the n ecessary 

labor and m aterial data.

The m aterials listings thus obtained were 

classified into categories (consistent with 

the 4-digit Standard Industrial C lassification) as found in the Census of Manufactures product groups. For each of these 

groups, the average amounts required for 

$1,000 of construction were calculated. Each 

of these averages was reduced by a ratio 

representing the difference between the 

m a n u fa ctu re r’ s and c o n t r a c t o r ’ s valuation. 

The amounts thus reduced were consistent 

with Census data published for these various 

components.

Prim ary man-hours for manufacturing 

m aterials (i.e., the hours required in the 

final manufacturing stage) were developed 

by m ultiplying these average amounts by a 

ratio of manufacturing m an-hours to $1,000 

of production. These ratios were computed 

from the output and employment data in the 

1964 Survey of Manufactures.

P rim ary m an-hours for trade and tran sportation were d erived in a sim ila r m anner. 

Here, however, employment ratios were 

applied to the d ifferen ce between p r o d u c e r ’ s 

and p u r c h a s e r ’ s valuation, which was taken 

as the total of all distribution costs between 

the sites of final manufacture and 

c onstruction.

To compute secondary man-hours to 

produce the materials (i.e., hours required 

in all stages of production other than final 

m anufacture and tran sportation ), the 1958 

interindustry study by the Office of Business 

E conom ics of the U.S. Department of C om ­

m erce was used. This study indicates the 

amount of secondary product or service

2 2

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req u ired of each of its 78 industry s e cto rs Area Definition

to produce the prim ary product. Summing 

these amounts and applying the appropriate 

employm ent ratios produced the number of 

secondary man-hours required in each of 

the sectors.

Two other minor components were r e ­

quired to com plete the com pilation of total 

off-site hours as defined for this series of 

studies. One of these is the hours required 

to produce the contractors* purchases of 

overhead materials and services. The quantities of these items were estimated and 

included in the man-hour conversions just 

described. The other is the hours worked 

by the off-site em ployees of the con stru ction industry. The estimate for these hours 

is based on the difference between the p r o ­

portion of all nonconstruction w orkers in the 

contract construction industry as reported 

in the BLS em ploy m en t trend se rie s , and the 

p rop ortion of on -site nonconstruction m anhours as developed in this study.

The study covered only public school 

construction, elem entary and secondary, in 

the 48 contiguous States. They w ere grouped 

for regional com parisons as follows:

Northeast--Connecticut, Maine, M assachusetts , New H am pshire, New J e rs e y , New 

York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and V erm ont; North C e n t r a l--I llin o is , Indiana, Iowa 

Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, M issouri, 

Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota 

and Wisconsin; South--Alabama, Arkansas, 

Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, 

Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, 

M ississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, 

South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, 

and West V irginia; and We s t --A r iz o n a , 

California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

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OTHER AVAILABLE BLS PUBLICATIONS ON 

CONSTRUCTION LABOR REQUIREMENTS 1 /

Bulletin

number P rice

1299 Labor Requirements for School Construction,

50 pp................................................................................................................. 35£

1331 Labor Requirem ents for F ed eral Office

Building Construction, 43 pp.................................................. 35£

1340 Labor Requirements for Hospital Construction,

46 pp................................................................................................................. 35£

1390 Labor and Material Requirements for Civil

Works Construction by the Corps of

E ngineers, 28 pp................................................................ 

1402 Labor and Material Requirements for Public

Housing Construction, 42 pp................................................................ 30£

1404 Labor and Material Requirements for Private

O n e-F am ily House Construction, 37 pp.................................. 30£

1441 Labor and Material Requirements for College

Housing C onstruction, 34 pp................................................................. 30£

1490 Labor and Material Requirements for Sewer

Works Construction, 31 pp.................................................................... 30£

BLS Report 

number

29$ Labor and Material Requirements for

Construction of F ederally Aided Highways,

1958, 1961, and 1964, 17 pp.......................................................... F r e e 2 j

1 / Sales publications may be purchased fr o m the Superintendent of Docum ents, 

Washington, D.C., 20402, or from regional offices of the Bureau of L abor Statistics 

at the addresses shown below.

2 j F rom Bureau of Labor Statistics, Washington, D.C., 20212 or any of the

offices listed below.

Regional Offices

New England Region 

1603-A Federal Building 

Government Center 

Boston, Mass. 02203

North Central Region 

219 South D earborn St. 

Chicago, 111. 60604

Middle Atlantic Region 

341 Ninth Avenue 

New York, N.Y. 10001

Mountain Plains Region 

911 Walnut Street 

Kansas City, Mo. 64106

Western Region

450 Golden Gate Avenue

Box 36017

San F ran cisco, Calif. 94102

Southern Region 

1371 Peachtree 

Suite 540

Atlanta, Ga. 30309

? U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1968 O - 299-908

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office

Washington, D.C. 20402 - Price 30 cents

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