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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
Dayton & Montgomery
Public Library•




• • ’ yj

Co.




United States. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Labor and material requirements for private mul­
tifamily 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., 1915III. Title. IV. Se­
ries: United States. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Bulletin ; 1892.
HD^966.B92U*A- 1976
331.2’89’08310973
76-7619

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

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402, GPO Bookstores, or
BLS Regional Offices listed on inside back cover. Price $1.80
Make checks payable to Superintendent of Documents.
Stock Number 029-001-01861-4







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 require­
ments 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.







Contents

Introduction ...............................................................................................
Scope of su rv ey ..................................................................................
Survey methods ..............................................................................
Nature of industry ...........................................................................

1
1
1
1

Highlights of fin d in g s..................................................................................
General findings ..............................................................................
Requirements by occupation and type of c o n tra c to r....................
Distribution of costs ........................................................................
Regional differences ........................................................................

4
4
4
6

Labor requirements and characteristics....................................................
Onsite ........................................................................................ ... .
Employee-hours by occupation ..........................................
Employee-hours by type of c o n tra c to r.................................
Employee-hour requirements by building
characteristics.....................................................................
Wages and earnings by building
characteristics.....................................................................
Cost per square foot by building
characteristics....................................................................
Offsite ...............................................................................................
Builders’ offsite em ployee-hours..........................................
Manufacturing employee-hours.......................................
Wholesale trade, transportation, and services employee hours
Mining and other industries employee h o u r s .......................

8
8
8

14
14
14
14
14
14

Distribution of costs and w a g e s .................................................................
Relative cost s h a re s ...........................................................................
Contractor costs ..............................................................................
Gross earnings by occupation.......................... ................................
Wages by o c c u p a tio n ........................................................................
Wage share ........................................................................................
Materials, supplies, and e q u ip m e n t.................................................

16
16
16
17
17
18
18

Comparison with other su rv e y s.................................................................

22

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 ............................................................................................................



6

10
10

12

4
7
8

9

10

Contents— Continued
Page
6.
7.

8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.

14.
15.

Onsite employee-hour requirements in apartment construction, by
building characteristics and region, 1971 .................................................
Onsite average hourly earnings and wages as a percent of contract cost
in apartment construction, by building characteristics and region,
1 9 7 1 .........................................................................................................................................
Cost per square foot in apartment construction, by building
characteristics and region, 1 9 7 1 ..................................................................................- .
Percent distribution of cost in apartment construction, by type of
contractor, United States and regions, 1 9 7 1 ..............................................................
Percent distribution of gross earnings in apartment construction,
by occupation, United States and regions, 1 9 7 1 .............................
Cost of materials, supplies, and equipment used in apartment
construction, by product, 1 9 7 1 ..........................................................
Employee-hour requirements per 1,000 current dollars of contract
cost, by industry, all construction studies, 1958—73 ..........................
Percent distribution of onsite employee-hour requirements per 1,000
current dollars of contract cost, by occupation, all construction
studies, 1958—73
Percent distribution of contract costs, all construction studies,
1958-73
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 .................................................

...

11

...

12

. . 15
. . 16
. . 17
. . 19
. . 22

. . 24

Charts:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Multifamily housing as a percent of all private housing starts,
1956-74
Employee-hour requirements per $1,000 of contract cost in apartment
construction, by industry, 1 9 7 1 .................................................................
.5
Employee-hour requirements per 100 square feet of apartment
construction, by industry, 1 9 7 1 ........................................................................................................................ 5
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 lle c tio n ..................................................................................................................................27
C.
Bibliography ............................................................................................................................................................... 71




Chapter I. Introduction
The current program of construction labor requirements
studies was started in 1959 when Congress recognized the
need for information on the possible employment generat­
ing 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 espe­
cially in lists of materials used for construction.
Private multifamily (apartment) building is a major
component of construction and a prime source of employ­
ment. 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 characteris­
tics 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 Administra­
tion 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



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. In­
cluded 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 appropri­
ate 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 multi­
family 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
1Apartment Construction News, November 1966, p. 9.
2Labor and Material Requirements for Construction o f Private
Single-Family Houses, Bull. 1755 (Bureau of Labor Statistics,
1972), p. 5.
3Based on Bureau of the Census and National Association of
Home Builders data appearing in Journal o f Homebuilding, Novem­
ber 1970, p. 13.

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 o f—

Total private
housing starts
1960 ........................ ___
1965 ........................ ___
1970 ........................ ___
1 9 7 1 ........................ ___
1972 ........................ ___
1973 ........................ ___
1974 ........................ ___
First quarter 1975
(seasonally adjusted
annual rate) . . . . ___

20.6

Total value put
in place for
private housekeeping
residential housing

34.6
43.3
43.9
44.4
44.7
33.6

15.2
27.7
39.2
36.7
38.4
40.7
35.8

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 accor­
dance 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 domi­
nate the private multifamily housing industry, as shown in
the following tabulation:
4 Ibid. Average annual rates o f change are calculated by com­
pound interest.
5 Based on data in Bureau of the Census, Construction Reports,
Series C20, and C30, up through the June 1975 issue.
6The 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 o f 5 units or more
In a l l -----------------------------------------------multifamily
Percent of
structures
Number
all multi(thousands)
(thousands)
family units
1965 .............................
1970 ............................
1974 .............................
First quarter 1975
(seasonally adjusted
annual ra te )............

509.1
620.7
449.6

422.5
535.9
381.6

83.0
86.3
84.9

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;

1Apartment Construction News, July 1966, p. 33.
8Apartment Construction News, December 1971, p. 4.
9Apartment Construction News, July 1966, p. 33.
10Housing Starts, Series C20 (Bureau of the Census, April 1975),
P -4 .

Chart 1

M ultifam ily Housing as a Percent of All Private Housing Starts, 1956-74
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

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 apart­
ment 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 con­
struction 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.

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 expendi­
ture 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 con­
tractors’ 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

Table 1. Employee-hour requirements in apartment
construction, by industry, 1971
Per $1,000
of contract
cost

Per 100
square feet

Percent
distri­
bution 1

All industries ...................

126

164

100.0

Construction ............................
O n s ite ...................................
O ffs ite ...................................

58
50

75
65

8

10

46.0
39.7
6.3

68
43

89
56

54.0
34.1

15

20

10

13

11.9
7.9

Industry

Other industries........................
M anufacturing.....................
Wholesale trade, trans­
portation, and
services...............................
Mining and all other .........

1 D is trib u tio n is th e same fo r b o th colu m n s.
N O T E : D eta il m ay n o t add to to ta ls due to ro u n d in g .

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

13Labor and Material Requirements for Public Housing Con­
struction, 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.
14 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.



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, pro­
portionately 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 con­
struction and 2,000 for all other industries.

Chart 2.

Employee-Hour Requirements per $1 ,000 o f 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 o f Apartment Construction, by Industry, 1971




and within the site, relatively more laborers were required.
In descending order, other important occupations for multi­
family 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 con­
tractors (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 re­
gional conditions under which buddings are erected.17 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 pre­
dominated due to the milder climate.
17
The study provided data for the United States and four broad
geographic regions. States in each region included: N ortheastConnecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey,
New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont; North
Central-Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Mis­
souri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin;
S o u th -Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District o f Columbia, Florida,
Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Car­
olina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and
West Virginia; West- Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana,
Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

Table 2.

Summary of apartment project characteristics, by region, 1971
Characteristic

United States

Northeast

South

North Central

West

Most common number of stories............................
Average number of dwelling units per project . . .
Average square feet of space per dwelling
u n it ..............................................................................
Average cost per dwelling u n i t .................................
Average cost per square f o o t ...................................
Most common framing material used.....................

2 to 3
157

4 and over
240

2 to 3
149

2 to 3
163

2 to 3
135

979
$ 12,686
$12.96
Wood

946
$11,252
$11.89
Wood

1,039
$13,169
$12.67
Wood

992
$11,484
$11.57
Wood

Most common exterior wall material u s e d ............
Average hourly earnings.............................................
Wages as a percent of contract costs .....................

Brick
$5.60
27.9

935
$17,438
$18.64
Reinforced
concrete
Brick
$6.27
30.8

Brick
$4.57
27.3

Brick
$6.32
28.5

Stucco
$ 6.22
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.

Chapter III. Labor Requirements and Characteristics
single-family housing, public housing, and college housing.
However, a significantly higher proportion of onsite em­
ployee-hours in private multifamily construction was con­
tributed by workers in nonproduction occupations, as
shown by the following tabulation:

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.,

Nonproduction employee-hours
as percent o f all onsite
employee-hours
Private multifamily housing..........
Single-family housing......................
College hou sin g ...............................
Public housing.................................

6.0
2.8
3.4
3.6

Table 3. Onsite employee-hour requirements per $1,000 of contract cost in apartment construction by occupation and
region, 1971
United States
Occupation

All occupations...............................................
Professional, technical, and kindred
workers ..................................................................
Professional/technical ......................................
Superintendent/supervisor...............................
Clerical w o rk e rs ..................................................

Percent

50.0

100.0

2.9

.2
2.6
.1

Skilled trades ...........................................................
Bricklayers...........................................................
Carpenters...........................................................
Cement finishers ...............................................
Electricians .........................................................
Elevator constructors........................................
Glaziers ................................................................
Insulation w o rk e rs .............................................
Iron workers-ornamental.................................
Iron workers-reinforced....................................
Iron workers-structural ...................................
Lathers..................................................................
Operating engineers...........................................
Painters ................................................................
Plasterers..............................................................
Plumbers and pipefitters .................................
Roofers ................................................................
Sheet-metal w orkers...........................................
Soft-floor layers..................................................
Tile setters...........................................................
Other skilled trades ...........................................

33.1
2.5
12.7
1.7
2.9

Laborers and o t h e r ..................................................
Laborers, helpers, and te n d e rs ........................
Truckdrivers.........................................................
Custodial workers .............................................
Other semiskilled and unskilled
w orkers..............................................................

14.0
12.9
.4




.2
.1
.2
.3
.3

.6
.3
1.5

2.0
.5
4.7
.4

1.0
.2
.4

.6

South

Northeast
Hours
per
$ 1,000

Hours
per
$ 1,000

Percent

Percent

45.0

100.0

41.7

100.0

2.4

5.3

2.9

.0

.1

3.1

5.7
.3
5.2

2.3

5.1

7.1
.3
6.7

.1

.2

.1

.1

.1
2.8
.1

34.6
3.5
13.1

57.9
5.8

32.8
2.3
13.1
1.3
3.2

72.7
5.1
29.1
3.0
7.2

30.7
.4
13.8
1.5
2.7

73.8
.9
33.2
3.6
6.4

.1
.1
.1

.2
.1

.0
.0
.2
.2

.1
.1

.3

.6
.2

Percent

48.9

100.0

5.8
.4
5.2

2.7

.6
1.9

.2

.2

66.1

33.3
3.2
10.4
2.4
3.2
.4

5.0
25.4
3.4
5.9
.3

.1
.4
.5

.6
1.2
.6
2.9
4.0

1.1
9.4
.7

2.1
.5
.7
1.3

.1
.2

Percent

Hours
per
$ 1,000

59.8

100.0

5.6

3.4

1.1

.2

3.9
.5

68.2
6.5

21.2
4.9
6.5

.8
.2
.4

.6
.8

.3
.4
1.9

3.9

.6

1.1

.9
1.7
.7
5.8

.2
.2
.2

1.9
3.5
1.5
11.7
.5
.5
.4

.3
.3

.6
.6

12.8

26.2
24.3

West

North Central

Hours
per
$ 1,000

Hours
per
$ 1,000

1.6

22.0
2.8

2.7

4.5

.1
.0
.2
.2

.2
.0
.4
.4

.3

.6

.2

.5

.3

.1

.2

1.7
2.9
.5
4.4
.4

2.9
4.8

.0
1.6

.4
.3

1.3

.8

.2

7.3
.7

4.9
.3

1.0

1.8

.4
.5
.4

.7

1.6
.1

21.8

11.9
.4

.2

28.0
25.8
.9
.5

.1

.8
.2

.4

.4

.9

.5

1.0

.5

20.3

.6

.8
.8

.4

.3
.7
.5

.8
.1

.1
.6

3.6
3.0
.4
10.9
.7
3.4

1.4

.1
1.0

1.8
.9
4.1
.5

1.1
.3

.2

.2

.4
.4

1.4
3.3
4.3

2.2
9.7
1.3
2.7
.7
.5
1.9

1.1

2.5

.7

22.0

8.0

1.0
.6

9.9
8.9
.4
.3

19.7
.9

7.1
.3

.6

.1

.3

.9

.3

.7

.4

.9

36.4
34.0

19.1
17.1

.8

This increase in employee-hours allotted to administra­
tive 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, elec­
tricians, 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.
Table 4.
1971

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, proportion­
ately, 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 pipe­
fitters, electricians, machinists, and soft-floor layers.
Apprentices as percent
o f skilled workers

Occupa tion
All apprentices...........................................

7.8

Bricklayers...........................................................
Carpenters...........................................................
Cement finishers ...............................................
Electricians .........................................................
Elevator constructors........................................

3.4
7.6
2.9
15.1
6.0

Insulation w orkers.............................................

4.8

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

Occupation

South

Northeast

United States
Hours per

North Central
Hours per

Hours per

Hours per

West
Hours per

100 square Percent 100 square Percent 100 square Percent 100 square Percent 100 square Percent
feet

feet

feet

feet

feet

64.8

100.0

91.1

100.0

71.1

100.0

57.1

100.0

48.2

100.0

3.8
.3

5.8
.4

5.1

5.6

4.1

5.3

3.4

1.1

.2

5.7
.3

3.0

1.0

.1

.1

.1

7.1
.3

3.4

5.2

3.9
.5

5.2

2.9

5.1

3.2

6.7

.2

3.6
.4

3.7

.2

.2

.2

.1

.1

.1

.2

Skilled trades ...................................
Bricklayers...................................
Carpenters...................................
Cement finishers ........................
Electricians .................................
Elevator constructors.................
Glaziers ........................................
Insulation w o rk e rs .....................
Iron workers-ornamental..........
Iron workers-reinforced............
Iron workers-structural ............
Lathers...........................................
Operating engineers...................
Painters ........................................
Plasters ..........................................
Plumbers and pipefitters ..........
Roofers ........................................
Sheet-metal w orkers...................
Soft-floor layers..........................
Tile setters...................................
Other skilled tr a d e s ...................

42.9
3.2
16.5

66.1

62.2

68.2

5.0
25.4
3.4
5.9
.3

6.0

6.5

57.9
5.8

19.3
4.4
5.9

21.2

41.1
4.1
15.6

4.9
6.5

2.0

22.0
2.8

3.2

4.5

41.5
2.9
16.6
1.7
4.1

72.7
5.1
29.1
3.0
7.2

35.6
.4
16.0
1.7
3.1

73.8
.9
33.2
3.6
6.4

.1

.8
.2

.8
.2

.2
.0

.2
.0

.2
.1

.4

.4

.6

.6
.8

.3
.3
.4
.3

.4
.4

.0
.0
.2
.2

.1
.1

.4
.5

.1
.1
.2

.3

.6
.2

Laborers and o t h e r ..........................
Laborers, helpers, and
te n d e rs ......................................
Truckdrivers.................................
Custodial workers .....................
Other semiskilled and
unskilled w o rk e rs .................

18.2
16.7

All occupations........................
Professional, technical, and
kindred w orkers............................
Professional/technical ..............
Superintendent/supervisors..........................................
Clerical w o rk e rs ..........................




2.2
3.8

.2
.1
.2
.3
.4
.7
.4
1.9

.6
1.2
.6

.7
3.5

1.0

1.1

2.6

2.9
4.0

.7

1.1

6.1

9.4
.7

1.7
3.2
1.3
10.7
.5
.4
.3
.5

1.9
3.5
1.5
11.7
.5
.5
.4

.5
1.3
.3
.5
.9

3.9

.2
2.1
3.4
.5
5.1
.5

.6
.5

.2
2.9
4.8

.8
7.3
.7

1.2

1.8

.6

.6
.6

.5
.5
.4

.8
.8

28.0

23.9

26.2

25.9

22.1

24.3

.7

.3

25.8
.9
.5

.2

.8
.2

.6

.9

.9

1.0

.6

2.1
.5
.7
1.3

.4
.3
.4

.1
2.0
1.7

.2
6.2
.4

2.0
.1
.6

.3
.7
.5

.8
.1

.1

3.6
3.0
.4
10.9
.7
3.4

1.6
2.1
1.1

.7

4.7

.6

.4
.4

1.4
3.3
4.3

2.2
9.7
1.3
2.7
.7
.5
1.9

1.4

2.4

1.3
.3
.3
.9

36.4

12.5

22.0

9.2

19.1

24.1
.7
.4

34.0

11.3
.5
.4

19.7
.9

8.3
.4

17.1

1.0
.6

.6

.2

.3

.6

.9

.4

.7

.4

.9

.7

.1
1.0

.8

Occupation— Continued

Apprentices as percent
o f skilled workers— Continued

Iron workers-ornamental.................................
Iron workers-reinforced...................................
Iron workers-structural ....................................
Lathers ................................................................

1.5
2.4
5.2
2.9

M achinists...........................................................
P ain ters................................................................
Plasterers.............................................................
Plumbers and pipefitters .................................
R o o fe rs ................................................................

14.2
4.9
1.8
29.2
4.7

Sheet-metal workers ........................................
Soft-floor layers..................................................
Tilesetters ...........................................................

9.0
12.5
3.2

Region
Northeast
South
North Central
West

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 em­
ployee-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:

Percent o f
employee-hours

Type o f contractor

11.8

General
Masonry
Plumbing
Plumbing

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. Further­
more, the pattern was the same for items other than
materials. That is, sample projects with individual apart­
ment 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 t a l...........................................................................

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

General contractor ...........................................................
Grading, footings, excavation, and fo u n d a tio n .........
W aterproofing....................................................................
Concrete work ..................................................................
Structural steel erection ..................................................
Carpentry ...........................................................................
Masonry ..............................................................................
Heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning...................
Plumbing..............................................................................
Electrical..............................................................................
Elevators..............................................................................
In s u la tio n ............................................................................
W a llb o a rd ............................................................................
Plastering and lathing ......................................................
Painting and paperhanging .............................................
Hardwood flo o rin g ...........................................................
Linoleum, vinyl tile, and c a rp e tin g ...............................
Ceramic t i le .........................................................................
Roofing and gutter w o r k ...............................................
Ornamental iron w o r k .......................................................
Cleaning ..............................................................................
Asphalt paving ..................................................................
Other ...................................................................................

21.7
3.1

11.8

28.6
2.3

19.4
3.6

20.1
2.8
.1




.2
9.9
.4

12.8
8.8

4.7
.3
23.2
.7
5.6

12.1

4.8
9.0

5.2

6.8
.6

7.0
1.7
.3
8.3
3.4
3.1
.3
.5
1.4

.2
6.6
.5

12.1
11.1

.0
4.7
.4
16.9
7.8

6.0

9.8

.1
16.7

1.2

1.3
.5

.6

.6

.2

5.0
6.5
5.9
.4
.5
7.3
.9
4.0
.4
1.7
.7
1.4
.4
.4

.9
.9

.3

1.0

1.1

1.0

1.1

1.9

3.0

3.0

.5
7.9

1.8
3.1
.3

1.8
1.0

8.0

.3

10.7
7.5
.5
.5
9.0
.5

2.1
.2

2.3
13.4
7.6

.1
.5
7.5
4.0
2.5

.0

2.7

1.9

1.1
.6

1.0
1.8
.6

.3

1.7

1.5

Table 6.

Onsite employee-hour requirements in apartment construction, by building characteristics and region, 1971
United States

Characteristic

All p ro jects......................................................
Foundation:
Concrete b lo c k ....................................................
Concrete p ilin g s ..................................................
Poured concrete.................................................
O t h e r ....................................................................
Frame:
W o o d .....................................................................
S te e l.......................................................................
Brick ....................................................................
Concrete b lo c k ....................................................
Reinforced concrete..........................................
O t h e r ....................................................................
Exterior walls:
Brick ....................................................................
W o o d ....................................................................
Stucco ..................................................................
Aluminum s id in g ...............................................
Curtain w a l l .........................................................
O t h e r ....................................................................
Interior walls:
Dry wall (sheetrock)..........................................
Plaster ..................................................................
Floor base:
Concrete .............................................................
Wood/plywood .................................................
O t h e r .....................................................................
Floor covering:
Hardwood ...........................................................
Asphalt tile .........................................................
Vinyl/vinyl asbestos...........................................
Carpeting.............................................................
Roof base:
Concrete ..............................................................
Wood/plywood ..................................................
Insulating b o a rd ..................................................
O t h e r .....................................................................
Roof covering:
Built u p ................................................................
Asphalt shingle....................................................
Wood s h in g le ......................................................
O t h e r .....................................................................
Heating unit:
Central to p ro ject...............................................
Individual b uildin g .............................................
Individual a p a rtm e n t........................................
O t h e r .....................................................................
Type of heat:
Forced air ...........................................................
Hot water or steam ...........................................
Baseboard e le c tr ic .............................................
Wall unit ..............................................................
Heating fuel:
Electricity ...........................................................
G as.........................................................................
Oil .........................................................................
Air-conditioning:
Central to p ro ject...............................................
Individual buildin g .............................................
Individual a p a rtm e n t........................................
Window u n its ......................................................
None .....................................................................
I nci nerators/compactors:
Y e s .........................................................................
N o .........................................................................
See footnotes at end of table.




Hours
per
$ 1,000
of
cost

Hours
per
square
feet

Hours
per
$ 1,000
of
cost

50.0

64.8

49.2

59.9
58.7
47.7
46.8

65.4
93.1
60.2
58.4

C1)
51.4

45.6
C)
49.4
65.9
49.2
52.9

53.8
o
79.0
82.4
70.5

53.1
o
45.3
o
C)
42.4

100

South

Northeast

—

C)

square
feet

Hours
per
$ 1,000
of
cost

91.7

Hours
per

100

—

C)
80.3
C)

North Central

square
feet

Hours
per
$ 1,000
of
cost

59.8

71.1

61.8
66.5
57.2
51.2
53.0

Hours
per

square
feet

square
feet

45.1

57.1

41.2

47.7

68.6

C)

C1)

82.6
66.3
61.8

-

-

100

62.0
C)
C)
79.4

C)
C)
C)
—

0)
C)
66.4

C1)
0 )

C)
C)

C)
C)

0 )

73.4
C)
52.5
o
C)
46.6

47.5
—

89.6
—

(*)
(*)
—

C)
C)
—

59.4
69.1
—

70.6
83.4
—

C1)

C1)

49.8
52.8

64.1
78.8

50.3
C)

98.1
C1)

59.1
C)

49.1
53.1
44.2

64.0
68.7
53.2

50.6
C)
C1)

102.3
C1)
C1)

62.7
50.5
52.8
42.8

82.6
84.1

C)
47.5
C1)

C)
107.2
(*)

66.6
50.3

Hours
per

Hours
per
$ 1,000
of
cost

C)
C)
C)
—

68.8

Hours
per

West

C)

100

45.8
C1)

57.7

41.5
C)
C)
49.9
C1)

50.1
-

47.6
C)
—
C)
40.7

70.1
C1)

55.8
70.0
—

C)

C)
C1)
67.8
C)
64.1
C1)
—
-

-

100

-

41.6
C1)

48.3
C1)

41.0
—

47.1
—

C)
C)
-

C)
-

—

—
C)
46.6
-

C)
42.8

(* )
40.6
—
46.2

61.8

45.1
-

57.1
-

41.2
-

47.7
—

68.5
77.1
—

45.7
44.2
45.6

55.2
61.7
50.7

39.8
C1)
C1)

44.2
C1)
C)

69.0
60.8
57.0
51.6

84.5
67.0
67.0
62.6

—
C1)
49.6
41.6

—
C1)
64.9
50.9

—
C)
48.6
39.0

—
C1)
65.7
43.1

C)
59.3
C)
C)

C1)
67.9
C)
C)

54.4
42.1
-

72.8
52.5
-

0)

V)

C)
41.0
-

C1)
47.2
-

C)
—

63.2
55.2
—

C1)

C1)

44.9
43.7
C1)
C1)

58.2
52.8
C)
C)

42.7
(; )
—

C)

78.2
60.9
—
C1)

48.1
C1)
—
—

88.8

64.9
55.9
55.3
C1)

80.1
59.6
64.3
C1)

52.2
41.8
42.3
-

68.6
58.5
50.3
-

0)
0)
39.7
C1)

C)
C)
45.6
C1)

58.0
67.3
53.1
65.3

71.9
72.0
64.1
76.8

43.3
47.7
C)

50.4
64.3
C)
—

39.6
45.6
C)
43.7

47.9
52.6
C)
41.2

67.8
67.9
C1)

C)
45.7
-

C)
57.5
-

C)
41.1
-

C1)
47.5
-

80.1

C)
45.7
C)
62.1

C)
C)
45.8
—
40.3

C1)
C)
55.4
—
46.5

72.8
52.6

41.2

—

—

52.2
48.6
C1)
C)

87.7
58.1
C)
C)

50.2
46.8
-

101.6

51.0
47.4

68.2

47.6
C)
—

88.8

72.5
-

C)
52.5

56.3
(*)
75.3

54.7
47.8
46.3
C)

80.1
59.6
54.8
C)

47.6

48.4
50.9
51.8
53.3

59.0
73.0
67.6
55.2

C)
47.6
C)
—

51.9
49.8
50.0

69.7
59.8
92.1

( 1)
53.7
45.3

C)
89.5
90.5

52.8
61.5
(*)

61.7
50.2
46.7
C)
46.5

81.6
61.2
54.0
C)
63.6

C1)
—
—
—
46.6

C)
—
—
—
91.0

64.9
62.1
53.3
—
56.5

62.5
—
65.0

C)
C)
40.5
0)
49.6

51.8
49.2

85.2
58.5

47.2

88.2

C)

C1)

C1)
59.2

C)
67.5

54.4
42.2

—

—

C1)
-

C)
C)

88.8
C)
—

68.2

—

—

—

—

—

47.7

Table 6. Onsite employee-hour requirements in apartment construction, by building characteristics and region, 1971 —
Continued
United States
Hours
per
$ 1,000
of
cost

Characteristic

Number of stories:
1 s to r y ..................................................................
2-3 stories ...........................................................
4 stories and o v e r...............................................
Elevators:
Y e s .........................................................................
N o .........................................................................

C)

Hours
per

100
square
feet

Northeast
Hours
per
$ 1,000
of
cost

South

Hours
per

100
square
feet

C)

Hours
per
$ 1,000
of
cost

Hours
per
square
feet

Hours
per
$ 1,000
of
cost

100

Hours
per

100
square
feet

C1)

C1)
64.9
82.2

42.2
54.4

52.6
72.8

41.0
( ')

47.2

C)

53.3
41.6

71.1
51.5

<‘ )
41.0

(‘ )
47.1

55.9
83.4

<‘ >
48.7

90.0

54.9
47.3

83.5
56.6

47.2

88.2

0)

( ')

( ')

55.3

1 In s u ffic ie n t da ta .

100
square
feet

West

Hours
per
$ 1,000
of
cost

55.5
67.3

46.7
55.0

o

North Central

Hours
per

64.5

C)

N O T E : Dash deno tes th a t th e survey had no sam ple pro jec ts in
this cell.

Despite smaller average units in the Northeast, construc­
tion 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 propor­
tion 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 construc­
tion contract. However, there tended to be a close
relationship among these variables, on a regional basis. The
tabulation below provides some indication of these inter­
relations:

Most projects surveyed had poured concrete founda­
tions, 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 North­
east 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 propor­
tion of total onsite employee-hours. Of course, the pre­
dominance of reinforced concrete frames was a direct result
of the generally taller buildings in the Northeast.

Union contracts
Onsite
as a percent of employee-h ours
per $1,000
total contracts

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.

United States .
Northeast .................
South ........................
North C e n tr a l.........
West ..........................

64.2
89.8
25.1
82.6
90.8

50.0
49.2
59.8
45.1
41.2

Onsite
average
hourly
earnings
$5.60
6.27
4.57
6.32

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
United States
Characteristic

All p ro je c ts ...............................
Foundation:
Concrete b lo c k ............................
Concrete p ilin g s ..........................
Poured concrete..........................
O t h e r .............................................
Frame:
W o o d .............................................
S te e l...............................................
See footnotes at end of table.




Northeast

South

North Central

West

Average Wages as Average Wages as Average Wages as Average Wages as Average Wages as
hourly percent of hourly percent of hourly percent of hourly percent of hourly percent of
earnings contract earnings contract earnings contract earnings contract earnings contract
$5.60

27.9

$6.27

4.71
5.18
5.87
5.33

28.2
30.4
28.0
25.0

(’ )
6.33
( ')

(’ )
32.5
C1)

5.46

24.9
C)

( ')
( ')

C1)
C)

O

—

30.8
—

$4.57

27.3

4.62
4.90
4.11
4.64

28.6
32.6
23.5
23.7

4.21

22.3

C)

0)

$6.32

o

28.5

C1)

$ 6.22
—
—

25.2
—
—

6.37

29.2

6.20

25.8

C)

C1)

(*)

C)

6.50
-

27.0
-

6.23
-

25.5
-

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
Characteristic

Brick .............................................
Concrete b lo c k ............................
Reinforced concrete...................
O t h e r .............................................
Exterior walls:
Brick .............................................
W o o d .............................................
Stucco ..........................................
Aluminum s id in g ........................
Curtain w a l l .................................
O t h e r .............................................
Interior walls:
Drywall (sheetrock)...................
Plaster ...........................................
Floor base:
Concrete ......................................
Wood/plywood ..........................
O t h e r .............................................
Floor covering:
Hardwood ....................................
Asphalt tile .................................
Vinyl/vinyl asbestos...................
C arpeting......................................
Roof base:
Concrete ......................................
Wood/plywood ..........................
Insulating b o a rd ..........................
O t h e r .............................................
Roof covering:
Built u p ........................................
Asphalt shingle............................
Wood sh in g le ...............................
O t h e r .............................................
Heating unit:
Central to p ro ject........................
Individual b uildin g .....................
Individual a p a rtm e n t.................
O t h e r .............................................
Type of heat:
Forced air ....................................
Hot water or steam ...................
Baseboard electric .....................
Wall unit ......................................
Heating fuel:
Electricity ...................................
G as..................................................
Oil ..................................................
Air-conditioning:
Central to p ro ject........................
Individual b uildin g .....................
Individual a p a rtm e n t.................
Window u n its ...............................
None .............................................
Incinerators/compactors:
Y e s ..................................................
N o ..................................................
Number of stories:
1 s to r y ...........................................
2-3 stories ....................................
4 stories and o v e r........................
Elevators:
Y e s ..................................................
N o ..................................................
In s u ffic ie n t d a ta .




South

Northeast

North Central

West

Average Wages as Average Wages as Average Wages as Average Wages as Average Wages as
hourly percent of hourly percent of hourly percent of hourly percent of hourly percent of
earnings contract earnings contract earnings contract earnings contract earnings contract
5.84
4.81

6.12
5.92

28.9
31.7
30.1
31.3
28.4

<‘ >
—

C1)
—

C)
C)

C1)
C)

6.30
—

29.9
—

C)
C)
—

(*)
(*)
—

_

_

O

C)
C)
30.4
C1)

C1)
C)
-

C)
C)
-

30.1
C1)
—
C)
26.2

—

—

0)

6.32
C1)
—
C)
6.44

C1)
6.25
—
5.96

C)
25.3
—
27.5
25.7
-

C)
4.76
C1)
C)

C)
31.6
C1)
C1)

4.48
5.24
—

26.6
36.2
—

(>)

C1)
C)

6.10

5.35
o
5.99
5.63
o
5.97

(*)
27.2
45.1
(’ )
25.3

5.54
6.41

27.6
33.8

6.09
C)

30.6
C)

4.52
C)

26.7
C1)

6.32
-

28.5
-

6.22

5.58
5.52
6.43

27.4
29.3
28.4

6.26
C)
C)

31.7
(*)
(!)

4.66
4.39
-

26.0
30.8
-

6.25
6.32
6.64

28.6
27.9
30.3

6.12

24.4

C1)
C)

C)
(!)

5.18
5.85
5.50
5.78

32.5
29.5
29.0
24.7

C)
6.34
6.33
-

(’ )
30.1
33.4
-

4.80
4.44
4.54
4.30

33.1
27.0
25.9

6.07
5.47
C)
C)

31.7
26.6
C)
C)

6.28
6.23
—
-

31.5
29.1
-

C1)
4.45
0)
C)

C1)
26.4

5.66
5.34

28.9
25.3

6.32

(*)
5.99

C1)

30.1
(*)
—

4.77
4.14
—

31.4

(*)

C)

5.60
5.21
5.66

30.6
24.9
26.2

6.32
-

30.1
-

C)

(*)

C)

C

5.36
5.88
5.44
5.50

26.0
29.9
28.2
29.3

5.33
5.54

6.00

27.6
27.5
30.0

5.09
5.41
5.47

31.4
27.1
25.5

C1)

C)

6.00

27.9

5.94
5.44

30.8
26.8

)

(*)
—

-

—

—

C1)
6.16
6.42

0)
30.6
26.7

6.00
6.43
o

32.6
27.1
0 )

30.2
22.9
—

6.23
6.43

28.0
28.1

C1)

C)

C1)

C)

C1)
C1)

4.74
3.49
4.53

30.8
19.5
25.0

6.12

-

(*)

C1)

4.36
4.63
5.08
4.98

25.3
31.1
27.0
32.5

5.00
4.32

26.4
26.5

C)

C)

4.74
3.58
4.49
—
4.59

30.8

C)

C1)

22.2

6.30
6.48

29.9
26.2

C1)

C1)

6.28

31.2

6.19
—
6.28

32.6
27.2

6.22

C)

C)

6.32

30.1

C)

C

—

—

-

)
—

C)

C)

5.99
6.45

32.2
29.2

C)

C1)

—
—
—
6.36

—
—
—
29.6

6.34

29.9

(*)

C)

C)

4.47

22.2

C1)
C1)

23.9
—
25.9

6.30
6.48
-

31.9
26.3
27.4
-

6.52
6.19

28.2
29.5

C)

C)

—

—

-

C)

C1)

C)

6.31

30.7

4.41
4.92

24.5
33.1

5.82
5.45

32.0
25.8

6.34

29.9

C)

C)

C1)

4.35

O
24.0

26.4

C)

C )

—
-

—
-

C)
C)

C1)
C1)

6.27

24.9

C1)

C1)

6.28

24.9
27.9

6.12
C)

C)

6.12

26.8

(*)

C1)

6.23
—

25.6
—

6.45

C)

6.19

C1)

6.00

C1)

-

C1)
25.5
-

28.9
—

6.45

25.8
31.7

C1)

6.22

0)

O

(*)

6.11

—
C1)
31.2
23.8

6.33
—

26.5

5.52
5.77

0)
6.41

6.00

27.2
32.6

6.04
6.47

32.2
26.9

C)
C)

—

-

C1)
C1)
28.4
—

25.3
—
25.7

6.22

25.5

)

C1)

C

C)

C)

6.22

25.5

N O T E : Dashes d e n o te th a t th e re w ere no survey projects in this
cell.

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 generaliza­
tions can be made about the other two regions. Obviously,
there are extraneous factors which this survey was not able
to measure.
Cost per square fo o t 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 admini­
strative office and warehousing activities, and the labor to
produce and distribute the materials, supplies, and equip­
ment 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 ware­
housing activities. Construction offsite hours, a relatively
small portion of employee-hour requirements, constituted 61
18 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 o f 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 responsibili­
ties to overall coordination, scheduling, control, and super­
vision 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 manufac­
turing 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 re­
quired 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 in­
cluded agriculture, maintenance, construction, communica­
tions, utilities, finance, insurance, real estate, and govern­
ment enterprises. Ten employee-hours per $1,000 of con­
struction 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 construc­
tion. 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 expendi­
tures 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 cate­
gories of construction, i.e., multifamily and public housing,
were similar in type of construction but building char­
acteristics varied in many respects.
In a 1969 survey of single-family housing construction,
the three most important categories of material expend­
itures, 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 expendi­
tures in multifamily housing construction were con­
siderably 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.

Table 8.

Cost per square foot in apartment construction, by building characteristics and region, 1971
Characteristic

All p ro jects.............................................................
Foundation:
Concrete b lo c k .............................................................
Concrete p ilin g s...........................................................
Poured concrete...........................................................
O t h e r ..............................................................................
Frame:
W o o d ..............................................................................
S te e l................................................................................
Brick ..............................................................................
Concrete b lo c k .............................................................
Reinforced concrete....................................................
O t h e r ..............................................................................
Exterior walls:
Brick ..............................................................................
W o o d ..............................................................................
Stucco .................................................... .....................
Aluminum s id in g .........................................................
Curtain w a l l ..................................................................
O t h e r ..............................................................................
Interior walls:
Drywall (sheetrock)....................................................
Plaster ...........................................................................
Floor base:
Concrete .......................................................................
Wood/plywood ...........................................................
O t h e r ...................................................... .......................
Floor covering:
Hardwood ....................................................................
Asphalt tile ..................................................................
Vinyl /vinyl asbestos....................................................
C arpeting.......................................................................
Roof base:
Concrete .......................................................................
Wood/plywood ...........................................................
Insulating b o a rd ...........................................................
O t h e r .................................................... .........................
Roof covering:
Built u p .........................................................................
Asphalt shingle..............................................................
Wood s h in g le ................................................................
O t h e r ..............................................................................
Heating unit:
Central to p ro je c t.........................................................
Individual b uildin g .......................................................
Individual a p a rtm e n t..................................................
O t h e r ..............................................................................
Type of heat:
Forced air .....................................................................
Hot water or steam ....................................................
Baseboard electric .......................................................
Wall unit .......................................................................
Heating fuel:
Electricity .....................................................................
G as...................................................................................
Oil ...................................................................................
Air-conditioning:
Central to p ro je c t.........................................................
Individual b uildin g .......................................................
Individual a p a rtm e n t..................................................
Window u n its ................................................................
None ..............................................................................
I ncinerators/compactors:
Y e s ...................................................................................
N o ...................................................................................
Number of stories:
1 s to r y .......................... .................................................
2-3 stories ....................................................................
4 stories and o v e r .........................................................
Elevators:
Y e s ...................................................................................
N o ...................................................................................
1 In s u ffic ie n t d a ta .




United States

Northeast

South

North Central

West

$12.96

$18.64

$11.89

$12.67

$11.57

10.92
15.86
12.63
12.47

_

11.10

V/

C1)
15.61
C1)

12.43
11.58
12.08

12.60
(*)

11.80
C)
13.93

C1)
(*)
C)

12.07
-

12.00

—

11.70
(*)
C)
11.95
C)
C)
11.87
—
12.08

13.47
C)
—
—

16.75
13.32

C)
C)

13.83
C1)
11.59

18.87

-

—

-

0)
10.98

C)
C)
—

12.85
14.93

19.50
C)

11.86

13.04
12.94
12.04

20.22

12.28

C)
C)

11.01

13.18
16.67
12.63
11.76

C)
22.58
13.79
—

16.81
11.97

C)
11.44

(‘ )
C1)

20.27
15.50
-

13.36
11.89

18.65
( ')

12.36

(‘ )
14.35

C)

(‘ )

14.65
12.46
11.85
C)

18.65

12.33

12.19
14.34
13.04
10.34

C1)
18.65
C)

13.43

12.02

C)
16.66

18.44

20.00

—

—
C)

(*)

—
12.25

11.01
11.75

12.11

(’ )
C1)

-

—

C)
10.52

C)
11.50
—
—
13.37

12.67
—

11.57
—

12.08
13.98
11.13

11.08
C1)
C1)

—

—

C)
13.08
12.24

C)
13.51
11.05

13.38
12.45
—

C)
11.50
—
-

C1)

C)
C)
11.49
C1)

12.40
10.70
12.07
11.76

11.63
13.50

12.08
11.54
C)
9.43

12.84
11.05
C)

C)
12.59
—
C)
13.34
11.28
C)
12.51

—
11.55

11.64
C1)

—

—

(*)
C)

13.14
13.98
11.89
—

—

C1)

13.22

—

11.26
(’ )

10.68

12.20

11.49

12.95
12.06
C1)
C)

11.02

—

-

C1)
C1)
13.58
C1)

_
11.61
C)

0)

—
—

C)
11.54
—

(*)
13.68

—
—
19.53

12.33
10.99
11.72
—
11.51

16.45
11.89

18.67
C)

C)
11.40

13.38
12.47

—
11.57

C1)
11.96
15.16

C1)
18.47

C)
11.70

12.47
13.38

11.50
C)

15.21
11.97

18.67

C1)

C)

11.68

13.36
12.40

C)
11.50

11.57

12.21

C)
C)

12.10

N O T E : Dash deinotes t h a t th e survey had no sam ple p ro jec ts in
th iso e ll.

Chapter IV. Distribution of Costs and Wages
Relative cost shares

Onsite wages made up 28 percent of the total construc­
tion cost, as shown in the distribution of construction
contract value below:
United
States

North­
east

South

North
Central

West

100.0

100.0

(percent)
Total costs ......... .
Onsite wages and
salaries .......................
Materials and supplies .
Equipment ...................
Overhead and profit . .

100.0
27.9
44.2
3.0
24.8

100.0
30.8
37.6
2.5
29.1

100.0
28.5
46.8

2.6
22.1

27.3
46.5
3.5
22.7

25.2
43.7
3.4
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 con­
tractor assumes on any project. Other contractors, ac­
counting for a significant but decreasing proportion of
contract value, were plumbing; concrete; heating, vent­
ilating, 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 by1
19Overhead costs include salaries of offsite workers, supplemental
benefits, interest expense, other overhead, and miscellaneous ex­
penses.




Table 9. Percent distribution of contract cost in apart­
ment construction, by type of contractor. United States
and regions, 1971
North
West
Central

United
States

North­
east

South

T o t a l........................

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

General contractor
Grading, footings, exca­
vation, and founda­
tion ...............................
W aterproofing.................
Concrete work ..............
Structural steel
e re c tio n ........................
Carpentry ........................
Masonry ..........................
Heating, ventilation, and
air-conditioning..........
Plumbing..........................
Electrical..........................
Elevators..........................
In s u la tio n ........................
W a llb o a rd ........................
Plastering and lathing . .
Painting and paper­
hanging ........................
Hardwood flooring
Linoleum, vinyl tile, and
carpeting .....................
Ceramic t i le .....................
Roofing and gutter
work ............................
Ornamental iron work . .
Cleaning ..........................
Asphalt paving ..............
Other ...............................

31.9

21.9

40.0

31.5

29.1

3.0

4.6

3.0

.1

.1

2.8
.0

1.7

.1
8.8

18.2

5.4

4.6

10.5

.7
9.9
5.3

2.5
5.3
8.7

.3
7.4
6.9

.4
13.2
4.0

14.3

6.2

5.9
8.9
6.5
2.3

7.3

7.1
10.5

Contractor

9.0
5.9

.8
.5
5.9
1.3

.1
5.9

2.0

6.2

6.0

.0

.1
.8
3.5

11.8
6.1
.0
.5

5.4
.5
.7
5.2
.5

.7
.5
6.9

3.0
.4

1.1
.1

1.5

3.1
.8;

.2

5.8
3.3

*2.0
.3

1.8

2.3

.8
1.0

2.0

3.2

.7

.8

.7

1.4
.7

1.3

1.4

1.0
.0
1.6

1.1

2.5

3.0

.8
1.2
.8
.1
1.2
2.0

.7

.6
.0
.3

1.2

.1
1.3
1.5

.0

.5

1.1

N O T E : D e ta il m ay n o t add to to ta ls d u e to ro u n d in g .

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 sub­
contractor in value of contract. This was a direct result of
the structural characteristics of the nine sample projects in

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 sub­
contractor 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 apart­
ment construction, by occupation, United States and
regions, 1971
Occupation
All occupations . . .
Professional, technical,
and kindred workers .
Professional/technical ........................
Superintendents/
blue-collar super­
visors ........................
Clerical workers
Skilled trades .................
Bricklayers.................
Carpenters.................
Cement finishers . . .
Electricians ..............
Elevator con­
structors .................
Insulation workers . .
Iron workerso rn am e n ta l............
Iron workersrein fo rced ..............
Iron workersstructural ..............
Lathers........................
Operating engineers .
Painters .....................
Plasterers...................
Plumbers and pipe­
fitters .....................
Roofers .....................
Sheet-metal workers .
Soft-floor layers
Tile setters.................
Other skilled
w orkers...................
Laborers and others . . .
Laborers, helpers,
and ten d ers ............
Truckdrivers..............
Custodial workers . .
Other semiskilled and
unskilled workers .




United
States

North­
east

South

100.0

100.0

100.0

North
West
Central

100.0

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 fin­
ishers, 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 car­
penters 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.

100.0

Wages by occupation
7.7

7.4

7.7

7.2

8.9

.4

1.1

.3

.1

.3

7.2

6.0

7.2

7.0

8.5

.2

.3

.2

.1

.1

71.6
5.5
27.0
3.6

71.2

6.6

6.8

75.9
5.4
30.1
3.1
7.9

76.6

6.8
21.8

65.3
7.5
23.8
3.0
5.5

.4
.4

.9
.5

.3
.4

.2

.1

.3

.4

.6

.8

.5

.8

.4

.7

1.0

.8

.5

.7

1.4

4.3

.6

.6

1.2
2.1

.3
3.0
5.3

.8
.1

3.1
4.1
1.3

10.6
.8
2.2

5.2

3.2
1.7

1.1

3.6
3.0
.4

.8
33.9
3.4

6.8

.2
1.4
3.5
4.5

11.1

.7
3.7

1.3

2.8

.1
1.0

.7
.5

27.0

2.3
16.9

1.9
14.5

25.2
.7
.4

15.4
.7
.3

12.8

.5

.7

.5

8.4
.7
1.9
.7

.8

.6

.8

1.4
20.7

.8

.8

21.4

19.0
.7

19.8
.7

.2

.1

.7

.8

____{L

A verage hourly
earnings
from study

Union wage rate

All occupations...................

$5.56

$6.18

Glaziers...........................................
Paperhangers.................................
Plasterers........................................
Terrazzo workers ........................

6.25
6.30
6.57

6.08
6.02
6.35
6.46

Occupation

.7

.2

6.66

N O T E : These u n w eigh ted wage rates are n o t c o m p a ra b le to th e
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:

2.2

11.6

12.3
.5
.4
.4

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 Excep­
tions are shown in the following tabulation:

A verage hourly
earnings
from study

Union wage rate

United States .....................

$5.60

$6.18

Northeast ......................................
South .............................................
North Central ...............................
West ...............................................

6.27
4.57
6.32
6.22

6.41
5.21
6.38
5.86

Region

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).

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 wages as a
percent of
contract cost

Percent o f
projects studied

Under 2 0 . 0 ................................................................
2 0 . 1 - 22.5 ..............................................................
2 2 . 6 - 25.0 ..............................................................
2 5 . 1 - 27.5 ..............................................................
2 7 . 6 - 30.0 ..............................................................
3 0 .1 - 32.5 ..............................................................
3 2 . 6 - 35.0 ..............................................................
3 5 . 1 - 37.5 ..............................................................
3 7 .6 - 40.0 .............................................................
40.1 and over ...........................................................

13.5
12.4
14.6
13.5
12.4
14.6
7.9
3.4
2.2
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 o f
Region

contract cost

United States

27.9

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

25.2

South

.........

North Central
Northeast . .




27.3
28.5
30.8

Onsite employee-hours
Region
United States

per $1,000
o f contract cost

....................................................

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.

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 ord­
nance and transportation equipment, was next most im ­
portant at $74 or 16 percent. These three major categories
constituted 57 percent of all purchased materials, supplies,
and equipment costs. Other individual categories of m ate­
rials ranked considerably below these figures in relative
importance.
For convenience, construction machinery and equip­
ment 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. Ex­
penditures amounted to $31 per $1,000 or slightly over 6
percent of all materials and equipment costs.

Table 11.

Cost of materials, supplies, and equipment used in apartment construction, by product, 1971

Product

Total materials, supplies,
and e q u ip m e n t............

Cost per
$ 1,000
of
contract
cost
$476.25

Cost per

100
square
feet

$617.08

Percent
distri­
bution 1

100.00

445.33

577.02

93.51

Agricultural products............................
Seeds and straw ...............................
Nursery products including sod . .

3.98
.24
3.74

5.15
.31
4.85

.83
.05
.79

Mining and quarrying of nonmetallic
minerals, except fu e ls ........................
Sand and gravel and r ip r a p ............
Fill dirt, topsoil ...............................

6.40
4.61
1.79

8.29
5.97
2.32

1.34
.97
.38

9.28
8.79
.37

.12

12.03
11.39
.48
.16

1.95
1.85
.08
.03

1.24
1.13

1.61
1.46

.26
.24

.11

.14

.02

Total materials and supplies

Textile mill products .
Carpeting and pads
Acoustic felts . . . .
Oakum and rope . .
Apparel and other finished products
made from fabrics and similar
m aterials.............................................
Draperies and curtains .................
Miscellaneous apparel and other
finished products........................
Lumber and wood products, except
fu rn itu re .............................................
Poles, timber (untreated) ............
Dressed and rough boards, and
dimension lumber .....................
Flooring (hardwood) and other
hardwood ....................................
Wooden shingles and excelsior . .
M illw o rk ...........................................
P ly w o o d ...........................................
Fabricated structural laminates,
prefabricated...............................
Treated lu m b e r...............................
Plumbing accessories, fittings,
and wood t r i m ............................
Miscellaneous wood products . . .
Furniture and fix tu re s ..........................
Kitchen cabinets and vanities,
p r e 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 t i le ..........
Construction p a p e r.................
Insulation, fiberboard............
Miscellaneous paper products
Chemical and allied products..............
Oxygen, acetelyne, and other chem
icals, not elsewhere classified . . .
Plastic vapor barrier sheets............
See footnotes at end of table.




88.94
.15

115.26
.19

18.67
.03

43.52

56.39

9.14

3.32
.56
20.10
11.01

4.30
.73
26.04
14.26

.70
.12
4.22
2.31

7.56
.82

9.80
1.07

1.59
.17

.26
1.63

.34
2.13

.06
.34

18.55

24.03

3.89

12.87

16.68

2.70

1.57

2.04

.33

2.17
.38
.20

2.81
.49
.26

.46
.08
.04

1.07

1.39

.23

.28

.36

.06

2.13
.48
.25
.36
.81
.10

2.76
.62
.33
.16
.47
1.05
.13

10.55

13.66

2.21

.31
.31

.40
.40

.06
.07

.12

.45

.10
.05
.03
.08
.17

.02

Product

Cost per
$ 1,000
of
contract
cost

Miscellaneous cleaners, thinners,
waxes, polishes, solven ts.............. $
P a in t......................................................
Putty, calking, and glazing
compounds ......................................
F ertilize r...............................................
Adhesives, all o th e rs ..........................
Concrete admixtures, hardeners . . .
Sealants ...............................................
Miscellaneous chemical
products ...........................................
Petroleum refining and related
p ro du cts..................................................
Fuels, diesel fuel, gas oil,
grease ..................................................
Asphalt paving ....................................
Insulation, asphalt board, rolls,
and sheathing....................................
Asphalt and tar pitches.....................
Membrane waterproofing vapor
b a r rie r...............................................
Rubber and miscellaneous plastic
p ro du cts............................ .....................
Rubber products.................................
Adhesives, rubber ce m e n t.................
Conduit and conduit fittings
(p la s tic ).............................................
Plastic pipe, tubing, conduits,
and fittings ......................................
Plumbing fixtures, premolded
plastic ...............................................
Insulation, styrofoam and other
plastic insu latio n ............................
Vinyl tile .............................................
Laminated plastic panels and
counter tops ...................................
Other plastic products .....................
Miscellaneous rubber and plastic
products ...........................................
Stone, clay, glass, and concrete
p ro ducts..................................................
Window glass ......................................
M irro rs ..................................................
C em en t..................................................
(Clay) brick ........................................
Ceramic tile ........................................
Clay refractories.................................
Clay sewer p ip e ....................................
Other clay structural products
Plumbing fixtures and accessories
vitreous china .................................
Concrete block, b r ic k ........................
Concrete p ip e ......................................
Other precast concrete products . . .
Ready mix c o n c re te ..........................
L im e ......................................................
Gypsum p roducts...............................
Marble and other cut s to n e ..............
Asbestos cement products ..............
Vinyl asbestos t i le ...............................
Asphalt floor tile ...............................
Adhesives, asbestos cem ent..............
Insulation, asbestos (including
sprayed-on) ................... ..................

Cost per

100
square
feet

Percent
distri­
bution 1

14

.02

6.56

8.50

1.38

.52

.67
.26

.11

.11 $

.20
.78
1.14
.30

1.02
1.48
.39

.04
.16
.24
.06

.30

.42

.06

8.29

10.74

1.74

.82
3.65

1.07
4.74

.17
.77

1.52
1.04

1.96
1.34

.32

1.26

1.63

.26

6.72
.45
.17

8.71
.59

1.41

.22

.04

.48

.62

.10

2.18

2.82

.46

.73

.95

.15

.24

.31
1.14

.05
.18

1.34
.16

1.74

.20

.28
.03

.10

.14

.02

105.35

136.51
1.32
.87
5.05
14.64
3.54
.41
1.08
.18

22.12
.21

.88

1.02
.67
3.90
11.30
2.73
.32
.83
.14
3.03
4.80
1.73
8.62
29.92
.71
20.25
.47
.14
3.41
1.04
.23
.95

.22

.10

.14
.82
2.37
.57
.07
.17
.03

3.92

.64

6.22

1.01

2.24
11.17
38.76
.93
26.24
.61
.19
4.42
1.35
.30

.36
1.81
6.28
.15
4.25

1.23

.20

.10
.03
.72

.22
.05

Product

Cost per
$ 1,000
of
contract
cost

Crushed rock, slag, miscellaneous
aggregate ........................................... $
Insulation, p e r lite ...............................
Plumbing fixtures, premolded
fiberglass..........................................
Insulation, fiberglass (mineral
or glass w o o l)....................................
Acoustical tile, fiberglass
(mineral w o o l).................................
Fiberglass reinforced plastics ..........
Sand-lime b ric k ...................................
Miscellaneous stone, clay, glass,
and concrete pro du cts...................
Primary metal p roducts..........................
Structural s te e l...................................
Steel, galvanized and ferrous
noncast iron p ip e ............................
Nails, wires, staples, fe r ro u s ............
Cable and wire, ferro us.....................
Cast iron products .............................
Cast iron pipe and fittin g s.................
Fire and water hydrants . ................
L e a d ........................................ ..............
Copper pipe and tubing ...................
Cable and wire, nonferrous..............
Nails, wires, staples,
nonferrous........................................
Miscellaneous primary metal
products ...........................................
Fabricated metal products, except
ordnance, machinery, and transpor­
tation equipment .................................
Builders' hardware ............................
Plumbing fixtures, metal and
enameled iron .................................
Plumbing accessories, fittings and
trim, b rass........................................
Warm air furnaces...............................
Incinerators ........................................
Radiators and heaters (non­
electric) .............................................
Unit heaters and ventilators ............
Prefabricated structural steel ..........
Metal doors..........................................
Metal w in d o w s ...................................
Fabricated metal plate products . . .
Storage tanks ......................................
Aluminum sheet m e t a l.....................
Galvanized sheet m e ta l.....................
Fabricated sheet metal, all
other .................................................
Registers, grilles, diffusers.................
Metal acoustical suspension
systems .............................................
Ornamental, architectural, and
miscellaneous metal work ............
Scaffolding (m e ta l).............................
Prefabricated metal buildings,
curtain walls, and parts .................
Metal reinforcing b ars ........................
All-metal nuts, bolts, washers,
screws, riv e ts ....................................
Mail boxes ...........................................
Wire m esh.............................................
Chain link f e n c e .................................
See footnotes at end of table.




Cost per

100
square
feet

Percent
distri­
bution 1

2.48 $
.19

3.22
.25

.52
.04

1.56

2.02

.33

3.60

4.66

.76

.10

.12

.02

.19
.39

.25
.51

.04
.08

.62

.82

.13

42.17
7.63

54.64
9.89

8.85
1.60

5.26
1.92
1.67
.65
9.40
.16
.31
7.88
6.61

6.82
2.49
2.17
.84
12.18

1.10

8.56

.40
.35
.14
1.97
.03
.06
1.65
1.39

.43

.55

.09

.26

.34

.05

74.27
5.91

96.23
7.66

15.59
1.24

6.84

8.86

1.44

4.13
3.33
.29

5.35
4.31
.37

.87
.70
.06

3.98
.82
2.09
5.50
8.64
.25
.24
1.28
4.64

5.16
1.06
2.70
7.13
11.19
.33
.31

.84
.17
.44
1.15
1.81
.05
.05
.27
.97

.20
.40

10.20

1.66
6.01

2.51
.71

3.25
.93

.53
.15

.12

.15

.02

5.21
.55

6.75
.71

1.09

.24
8.06

.32
10.45

.05
1.69

.64
.26
2.71
.41

.82
.34
3.51
.54

.13
.05
.57
.09

.12

Product

Cost per
$ 1,000
of
contract
cost

Clips, fasteners................................... $
Plumbing accessories, metal other
than brass ........................................
Miscellaneous fabricated metal
products ..........................................
Machinery except e lectrical...................
Elevators, escalators, and
dumbwaiters ...................................
Pumps....................................................
Blowers, exhaust and ventilating
f a n s ....................................................
Sprinkler systems (fire pre­
vention) .............................................
Fire hose (except rubber), rack,
d rie r....................................................
Air-conditioning equipment . . . . . .
Water treatment equipment ............
Miscellaneous machinery, except
electrical ..........................................
Electrical machinery, equipment, and
supplies....................................................
Electric meters and measuring
e qu ipm ent........................................
Transformers ......................................
Electrical switchboards and panelboards ...............................................
Electric motors and generators
Household cooking equipment
Household refrigerators,
coolers...............................................
Household laundry equipment
Household fa n s ....................................
Electric household heaters ..............
Miscellaneous household electric
appliances ........................................
Household hot water heaters ..........
Household dishwashers, garbage
disposals ...........................................
Electric lamps and b u lb s ...................
Lighting fixtures and non­
electric lamps and bulbs................
Current-carrying devices...................
Conduit and conduit fittings
(m e ta l)...............................................
Noncurrent-carrying devices............
Intercom and fire and burglar
alarm systems .................................
T. V . systems ......................................
A n te n n a ...............................................
Miscellaneous electric machinery,
equipment, and supplies ..............
Instruments and related products
Gas and water meters, gauges,
air therm om eters............................
Temperature co n tro ls ........................
Miscellaneous manufacturing indus­
tries .........................................................
Brushes and signs ...............................
Linoleum .............................................
Fire extinguishers, portable ............
Miscellaneous materials and supplies,
not elsewhere classified........................

Cost per

100
square
feet

.24 $

Percent:
distri­
bution 1

.31

.05

2.21

2.87

.46

2.45

3.18

.51

17.68

22.92

3.72

5.01
.95

6.49
1.23

1.05

1.15

1.49

.24

.48

.62

.10

.20

.20

.03

1.88

.21

11.62
.27

.76

.99

.16

44.59

57.78

9.36

1.30
.55

1.69
.71

.27

4.42
.19
8.27

5.73
.24
10.72

.93
.04
1.74

10.53
.15
1.14
.94

13.64
.19
1.48

2.21

1.22

.20

.11

.15
2.23

.02

1.72
2.60
.18

3.37
.24

.55
.04

3.88
1.83

5.03
2.37

.82
.38

3.40
1.45

4.41

1.88

.71
.30

.53
.23
.15

.68

.11

.30

.0 5

.20

.03

1.01

1.33

.21

.81

1.04

.17

.23
.57

.30
.74

.0 5

.61
.23
.26

.12

.78
.30
.33
.15

3.79

4.89

.16
8.96

.04

.12

.03
.24

.36

.12
.13
.0 5

.05
.0 2

.80

Product

Cost per
$ 1,000
of
contract
cost

Cost per

100
square
feet

Total contractors' construetio n e q u ip m e n t . . .
.............. $ 30.92 $ 40.06
Fabricated metal products.....................
Small handtools (nonpow er)............
Scaffolding (m e ta l)............................
Miscellaneous fabricated metal
products ...........................................
Machinery, except electrical .................
Power cranes, draglines, shovels
(power) ...........................................'
Tractors and bulldozers ...................
Backhoes and trenchers ...................
Drill r ig s ...............................................
Scrapers, graders.................................
Rollers and all other heavy con­
struction equipment .....................

6.49

.70
.46
.14

.90
.60
.18

.03

.22

.30

.05

.15

.10

Product

Cost per

100
square
feet

$

Percent
distri­
bution 1

1.42
3.00
1.26
1.54
1.49

.25
.24

rPnuupr
uv v ci ihandtools
ia iiu iu u io

1.09
2.31
.97
1.19
1.15

a n d a r r o c c n r io c

1.13

1.46

.24

.10

.13

.02

r
nn
o.uu
5.81
.19

7 77
7.53
.25

1.22

1.10

1.41

.23

F o rk lifts

. . ........................... .. . •
Compressors, pumps, jackhammers,

23.13

29.97

4.86

4.55
4.03
2.87
.62
1.57

5.89
5.22
3.72
.80
2.04

.96
.85
.60
.13

1.54

2.00

.32

I ransportation equipm ent.....................
Trucks (highway) ...............................
T ra ile rs ..................................................
Miscellaneous construction equip­
ment, not elsewhere classi­
fied ....................................................

.3 3

Cost per
$ 1,000
of
contract
cost

Mixers, pavers, and related
equ ipm ent........................................ $
Front-er.d loaders...............................
Hoists and monorails ........................

Miscellaneous machinery, except
electrical ...........................................

1 D is trib u tio n is th e sam e fo r b o th colu m n s.




Percent
distri­
bution 1

N O T E : D eta il m ay n o t add to to ta ls d u e to
exclusion o f line item s c o n ta in in g in s u ffic ie n t data.

.23
.49

.20

1.ZD

ro u n d in g

.04

and

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 multi­
family 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.
Table 12.
1958-73

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 build­
ings 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). Al­
though 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 con­
struction equipment was considerably higher for multi­
family housing than for other residential construction
because of the heavy equipment required to build the
generally higher multifamily structures.

Employee-hour requirements per 1,000 current dollars of contract cost, by industry, all construction studies,

Type of construction

Year of
construc­
tion

Initial studies:
1958
Federally aided highways ............................
1959
Federal office buildings.................................
1959
Elementary and secondary schools ............
Civil works:
Land p ro jects.............................................
1959-60
Dredging......................................................
Public housing.................................................. 1959-60
General hospitals............................................. 1959-60
College housing............................................... 1960-61
1962
Single-family housing ....................................
Sewer works:
Lines ...........................................................
1962-63
P la n ts...........................................................
1971
Multifamily housing ......................................
Second studies:
Elementary and secondary schools ............
General hospitals.............................................
Public housing..................................................
Single-family housing ....................................
Federally aided highways ............................




1964-65
1965-66
1968
1969
1973

Total,
all industries

Onsite
construc­
tion

237
227

97
97

222

86

201

85
134
114
89
94
72

237
236

210
226

202
211
210

86

126

83
50

188
178
160
137
114

72
76
80
52
44

Offsite
construc­
tion

Manufac­
turing

Wholesale trade,
transportation,
and services

Mining and
all other

10
12
10

66
72
74

39
31
32

24
16
19

6
11

53
57
62
79
73
61

35
23
29
19
30
31

22
12

74
72
43

29
32
15

16
16

10

65
64
42
41
37

26
18
16

10
8

20

14

18

8

14

11
11
12
7
7

8

9

10
14

10
6

18
13
17
26

15

O th e r
O th e r
Year

A d m in is ­
O p e r a t­

of

A ll

tra tiv e

con­

o ccupa­

and

s tru c ­

tio n s

s u p er­

Type of

C a rp e n ­

E le c ­

Ir o n ­

ing

erers
P ainters

layers
tio n

Plast­

s k ille d

L a b o re rs ,

con­

h e lp e r s ,

ers
B r ic k ­

c o n s tru c tio n

occupa­

P lu m b ­

ters

tric ia n s

w o rk e rs

tio n s

a nd

engi­

and

neers

lathers

( in c lu d ­
s tru c ­

and

tio n

te n d e rs

ing

p ip e ­

vis o ry

tr u c k -

fitte rs
tra d e s

d rive rs )
In itia l stu d ies :
F e d e r a lly a id e d
h i g h w a y s ..................................

1958

1 0 0 .0

1 0 .4

C )

C )

C1)

C )

(*)

C1)

C1)

(')

2 3 8 .2

0 )

3 5 1 .4

1959

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

1959

1 0 0 .0

3 .9

9 .3

1 8 .7

7.1

2 .8

1.9

3 .3

2 .7

9 .4

7 .9

2 9 .1

4 .0

1 0 0 .0

1 0.1

3.1

2 4 .1

6 .9

2 3 .0

2 6 .4

1 0 0 .0

4 .7

1 .7

1 .7

4 9 0 .8

F e d e ra l o ffic e
b u ild in g s

..................................

E le m e n ta r y and sec­
o n d a ry s c h o o ls .......................
C ivil w o rk s :
L a n d p r o j e c t s .......................
D re d g in g

1 9 5 9 -6 0

...............................

6 .4
-

-

-

-

1.1

-

-

-

1 0 0 .0

4 .0

7 .6

1 9.1

4.1

2.1

2 .7

4 .4

6 .8

7 .8

6 .5

3 0 .9

4 .0

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

1 4 .2

1 2 .0

2 6 .7

1 .7

C o lleg e 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 -fa m ily h o u s i n g ............

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

1 8 .5

P u b lic h ousing

.......................... 1 9 5 9 - 6 0

G e n e ra l h o s p ita ls

....................

1962

S e w e r w o rk s :
L i n e s ........................................

M u lt if a m ily h o u s i n g ..............

_

_

1 0 0 .0

10.1

1.3

2 .4

.1

.4

1 9 .6

.4

2 .7

4 4 .5

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

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

1 .5

1 9 6 2 -6 3

P la n t s .......................................

S ec o n d s tu d ies :
E le m e n ta r y a n d sec­
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 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

..........................

1968

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 -fa m ily h o u s i n g ............

1969

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

1973

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

o n d a r y s c h o o ls .......................
G e n e ra l h o s p ita ls
P u b lic h o u s in g

....................

F e d e r a lly a id e d
h i g h w a y s ..................................

1 D eta il by o c c u p a tio n n o t a vailable.
2 E xcludes appre n tic e s and o n -th e -jo b trainees.
3 In cludes apprentices and o n -th e -jo b trainees and laborers,
helpers, and tenders.
4 In cludes m o s tly ships' m asters, cap tains, m ates, c re w m e n , and
s u p p o rt perso nnel.

Table 14.

-

5 Includes apprentices and o n -th e -jo b trainees.
6 Includes b lu e -c o lla r supervisors.
N O T E : D e ta il m ay n o t add to to ta ls du e to ro u n d in g .
Dash deno tes zero.

Percent distribution of contract costs, all construction studies, 1958-73
Type of construction

Initial studies:
Federally aided highways ...........................................
Federal office buildings...............................................
Elementary and secondary schools ..........................
Civil works:
Land p ro jects...........................................................
Dredging.....................................................................
Public housing................................................................
General hospitals...........................................................
College housing . . . . , ..................................................
Single-family housing3 ...............................................
Sewer works:
Lines .........................................................................
P la n ts.........................................................................
Multifamily housing ....................................................
Second studies:
Elementary and secondary schools ..........................
General hospitals...........................................................
Public housing................................................................
Single-family housing3 ...............................................
Federally aided highways ...........................................

Total
contract costs

Onsite wages

Materials

1958
1959
1959

100.0
100.0
100.0

23.9
29.0
26.7

50.6
51.4
54.1

(2)
1.9
1.4

25.5
17.7
17.8

100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0

26.0
32.3
35.5
28.2
29.3

19.3
24.9
2.5

22.1

35.0
17.3
45.0
53.2
52.6
47.2

19.7
25.5
17.0
17.4
16.5
29.7

24.3
26.6
27.9

44.5
49.2
44.2

11.2
8.2

1971

100.0
100.0
100.0

1964-65
1965-66
1968
1969
1973

100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0

25.8
29.6
32.4
20.4
24.6

54.2
50.4
41.9
43.4
44.5

1959-60
1959-60
1959-60
1960-61
1962
1962-63

i n c l u d e s o ffs ite wages, frin g e b e n e fits , c o n s tru c tio n fin a n c in g
costs, in v e n to ry , and o th e r overhead and a d m in is tra tiv e expenses as
w e ll as p r o fit.




Overhead and
p ro fit 1

Year of
construction

Equipment

1.2
1.6
1.0

3.0

1.0
1.3
1.5
.9
( 2)

2 E q u ip m e n t in cluded w ith overhead and p ro f it.
3 Includes selling expenses,

20.0
16.0
24.8
19.0
18.7
24.2
35.3
30.9

Lum ber
M e ta l
a nd

S to n e ,

w ood

c la y ,

Year

P a in t

m a te ­
rials ,
T y p e o f c o n s tru c tio n

P e tro ­

con­

and

leu m

c h e m i­

p ro d ­

cals

and
tio n

in g , a n d a ir -

p ro d ­

c o n d itio n ­

ucts

ing e q u ip ­

as in d i­
cem ent

(in c lu d ­

E le c ­
P lu m b in g

(e x c e p t
and

ucts
su p p lies,

s tru c ­

ucts

c ated

ing

p ro d ­

f u r n i­

ucts

Con­

v e n tila t­
ucts

glass,

p ro d ­

of

H e a tin g ,
p ro d ­

T o ta l

O th e r
s tru c ­

tric a l

fix e d

p ro d ­

e q u ip ­

A ll
t io n
o th e r
e q u ip ­

ucts

m ent

m e n t (e x c e p t

m e n t1

else­

e q u ip m e n t

e le c tric a l)
w h e re )

tu r e )
In itia l s tu d ies :
F e d e r a lly a id e d h i g h w a y s ............................

1958

1 0 0 .0

1 .8

(2)

1 7 .1

2 8 .1

1 9 .5

C2 )

C2 )

(2)

C2 )

( 3)

F e d e ra l o ff ic e b u i l d i n g s ................................

1959

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 r y a n d s e c o n d a ry s c h o o ls ____

1959

1 0 0 .0

8 .6

1 .4

2 .0

2 4 .4

2 8 .9

5 .8

9 .6

1 0 .9

2 .9

2 .5

3 .0

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

1 0 0 .0

C2 )

3 .9

2 8 .1

.2

7 .5

C2 )

C2 )

.4

.2

5 9 .0

.7

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
.5

3 3 .6

C iv il w o rk s :
L a n d p ro je c ts

.............................................

D r e d g i n g .........................................................
P u b lic h o u s i n g ...................................................

1 9 5 9 -6 0

G e n e ra l h o s p i t a l s .............................................

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

C o lleg e h o u s in g

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

1962

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

C2 )

................................................

S in g le -fa m ily h o u s i n g .....................................
S ew e r w o rk s :
L in e s .................................................................
P la n ts

11U9 U6 L2 - 6
v 3
u

..............................................................

M u l t i f a m i l y h o u s i n g ........................................

1971

1 0 0 .0

.8

.4

3 .0

6 0 .5

1 1 .1

C2 )

C2 )

.6

3.1

2 0 .2

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

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

2 .4

S e c o n d s tu d ies :
E le m e n ta r y a n d s e c o n d a ry 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

G e n e ra l h o s p i t a l s ........................................

1 9 6 5 -6 6

1 0 0 .0

4 .7

.8

.8

1 8 .1

2 2 .9

1 0 .3

9 .8

1 2 .2

1 6 .1

2 .5

1 .8

1968

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

P u b lic h o u s i n g ...................................................
S in g le -fa m ily h o u s i n g .....................................

1969

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 e r a lly a id e d h i g h w a y s .............................

1973

1 0 0 .0

1 .7

2 .0

1 7 .3

3 2 .2

2 2 .8

< *)

(*)

4 .5

< *)

(3)

1 9 .7

R e n ta l cost and d e p re c ia tio n o r e q u iv a le n t value.
2 N o n e re p o rte d .




3 C o n s tru c tio n e q u ip m e n t in cluded in all o th er.
N O T E : D e ta il m ay n o t add to to ta ls d u e to ro u n d in g .

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

Houston
Kansas City
Los Angeles
Memphis
Miami
Minneapolis
New Orleans

New York
Oklahoma City
Philadelphia
Phoenix
San Diego
San Francisco
Washington

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 single­
family 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 archi­
tectural 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 collec­
tors 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 dis­
cussion 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.

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 super­
intendent, 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 con­
sistency by the regional office and forwarded to Washing­
ton, 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 per­
sonnel for processing.
Procedures used to develop employee-hour estimates

Onsite and offsite employee-hour estimates were com­
bined to obtain estimates of total employee-hour require­
ments 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 con­
tractor 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 construc­
tion 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 valua­
tion by the producer. (This ratio was based on data
provided by BEA.) The differences between purchaser and
producer valuation were allocated to trade and transpor­
tation 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 employ­
ment, were combined with direct or onsite employee-hours
to determine total employee-hours within the definition of
the study. Offsite employment of each construction con­
tractor 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 Employ­
ment 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.

Appendix B. Forms Used for Data Collection

BLS 2 6 5 2 .01A

O f f i c e o f Management and
Budget No. 44R1381
Approval e x p i r e s : 12-31-72
U .S . DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Bureau o f Labor S t a t i s t i c s
W ashin gton, 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
0 11

FHA P r o j e c t No.
1 1

i

i

i

i

Region
i

C ity
____ 1.......L ,

Weight
____1____ l___

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

I*

II.

CONSTRUCTION DATES
a«

The b e g in n in g d a te o f th e p r o j e c t o p e r a t i o n i s th e d a te o f th e f i r s t day o f
o n - s ite c o n stru c tio n a c t i v i t y ,

b.

The end in g d a te i s th e day th e b u i l d i n g i s re a d y f o r t e n a n t occupancy ( t h e
B e n e f i c i a l Occupancy D a t e ) .
Even i f a d d i t i o n a l work i s done a f t e r th e BOD
d a te f o r r e p a i r s o r r e p la c e m e n t o f m a t e r i a l s , use th e BOD d a te as th e
e n d in g d a t e . Do n o t r e p o r t any e q u ip m e n t, l a b o r , o r m a t e r i a l s c o s t s
o c c u r r i n g a f t e r the BOD d a te anywhere on t h i s s c h e d u le .

c.

The "number o f c o n s t r u c t i o n weeks" means th e number o f weeks th e p r o j e c t was
under c o n s t r u c t i o n , i n c l u d i n g th e weeks d u r in g which work was c o m p le te ly
s to p p e d . I t i s th e tim e p e r i o d from th e b e g in n in g d a te to the end in g d a t e .

VALUE OF CONTRACT
Round a l l e n t r i e s t o 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 e q ual th e c o n t r a c t v a lu e o f I I . a .
a.

F o r the c o n t r a c t amount, use th e t o t a l FRA c o n t r a c t amount a d j u s t e d f o r a l l
change o r d e r s . Land c o s t and la n d developm ent, such a s d e m o litio n and s i t e
improvement p r i o r t o g r a d in g and e x c a v a t i o n , s h o u l d b e e x c lu d e d . V a l i d a t e
t h i s c o n t r a c t amount when you go t o th e g e n e r a l and prime c o n t r a c t o r s .
NOTE: Land developm ent and s i t e improvement ta k e p l a c e p r i o r to c o n s t r u c t i o n
and should be ex c lu d e d from th e c o n t r a c t amount. L a n d sc ap in g t a k e s p l a c e
a f t e r b u i l d i n g c o n s t r u c t i o n b e g in s and i s u s u a l l y in c l u d e d in the c o n t r a c t
amount.
The t o t a l c o n t r a c t p r i c e i s th e g e n e r a l c o n t r a c t , p l u s a l l th e prime c o n t r a c t s ,
pi us any m a t e r i a l s and s u p p l i e s p u rc h a s e d s e p a r a t e l y by th e d e v e lo p e r .
Be
c a r e f u l to watch f o r m a t e r i a l s and s u p p l i e s p u rc h a s e d sepai*ately by th e
d e v e lo p e r . (The c o s t s o f m a t e r i a l s and s u p p l i e s p r o v id e d by a d e v e lo p e r w i l l
n o t be r e f l e c t e d i n any g e n e r a l , p rim e , o r sub c o n t r a c t and must be added to
th e B form p r e p a r e d f o r th e g e n e r a l c o n t r a c t o r . )
F r e q u e n t l y "change o r d e r s " w i l l o c c u r d u r in g c o n s t r u c t i o n . These a r e changes
which a r e made in th e o r i g i n a l c o n t r a c t p l a n s o r s p e c i f i c a t i o n s . The c o n t r a c t
amount you r e p o r t m ust r e f l e c t a l l change o r d e r s .

b.

These n o rm a lly w i l l n o t be i n c l u d e d i n th e c o n t r a c t p r i c e .
t h i s i s th e c a s e .

c.

The commercial p o r t i o n r e f e r s to space r e n t e d by companies and o r g a n i z a t i o n s ,
e x c e p t th e o f f i c e s o f th e b u i l d i n g management. I n c l u d e h a ll w a y s , e l e v a t o r s ,
o r o t h e r p a r t s o f th e b u i l d i n g i f th e y a r e used p r i m a r i l y to s e r v i c e th e
commercial r e n t a l u n i t s .




E n te r "0" i f

I.

II.

CONSTRUCTION DATES
a.

Beginning ( m o . / d a y / y r . ) .....................

/

/

1

b.

Ending ( m o . / d a y / y r . ) . • • • • • • • • • • • •

/

/

2

c.

T o ta l number o f c o n s t r u c t i o n weeks

3

VALUE OF CONTRACT
a.

b.

c.

d.

e.

What i s th e t o t a l c o n t r a c t p r i c e o f th e p r o j e c t
( e x c lu d in g lan d and la n d d e velopm ents)?
Round e n t r i e s t o whole d o l l a r s . ...........................................

$

4

What r e a l e s t a t e com m issions, c l o s i n g c o s t s , o r
o t h e r s a l e s expenses a r e in c lu d e d i n th e t o t a l
c o n t r a c t p r ic e ? ......... ..............................................................

$

5

How much o f th e c o n t r a c t p r i c e was f o r th e
commercial p o r t i o n o f th e pro 1ect? ............• • • • • • • • • • •

$______________

6

How much o f the c o n t r a c t p r i c e was f o r
"u n d er co v e r" p a r k i n g ( in d o o r g a r a g e , c a r p o r t ,
c a n opied a r e a s , e t c . ) ? ............................. .............• • • • ...........

$

7

How much o f th e c o n t r a c t p r i c e was f o r th e
r e s i d e n t i a l p o r t i o n o f th e p r o i e c t ? ....................... ..

$

8

N otes




III.

d.

In c lu d e th e v a lu e o f p a r k i n g which i s un d e r c o v e r - - i n d o o r p a r k i n g , c a r p o r t s ,
and canopied p a rk in g a r e a s . Exclude o u td o o r p a r k in g such a s paved l o t s .

e.

The r e s i d e n t i a l p o r t i o n i n c l u d e s th e l i v i n g a r e a , h a l l w a y s , e l e v a t o r s and
a s s o c i a t e d p a r t s o f th e b u i l d i n g , such a s basem ent u t i l i t y rooms and la u n d r y
rooms. The r e s i d e n t i a l p o r t i o n i s e v e r y t h i n g i n th e p r o j e c t e x c e p t commercial
a r e a s and u n d e r- c o v e r p a r k i n g . Any s e p a r a t e b u i l d i n g , e . g . , power p l a n t o r
o t h e r r e s i d e n t i a l s e r v i c e f a c i l i t i e s , sh o u ld be c o n s id e r e d r e s i d e n t i a l . A l s o ,
a number o f f a c i l i t i e s o u t s i d e th e p r o j e c t b u i l d i n g s sh o u ld be i n c lu d e d w ith
r e s i d e n t i a l v a l u e . These in c lu d e o u td o o r p a r k i n g , o u td o o r r e c r e a t i o n a l
f a c i l i t i e s , s id e w a lk s , s t r e e t l i g h t s , l a n d s c a p in g , d r a in a g e and sewer s y s te m s ,
u t i l i t y l i n e s , and f e n c e s .

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF PROJECT
a. 4 Record th e a p p r o p r i a t e code.
b.

Do n o t co u n t basements a s s t o r i e s .
NOTE: Townhouses a r e o u t - o f - s c o p e o f t h i s s u rv e y i f th e y have in d e p e n d e n t,
s e l f - c o n t a i n e d f a c i l i t i e s such a s plumbing*, h e a t i n g , e l e c t r i c i t y , g a r a g e s ,
and c e l l a r s . I f th e f a c i l i t i e s a r e n o t in d e p e n d e n t and s e l f - c o n t a i n e d f o r
each townhouse, how ever, th e y a r e i n - s c o p e and each "row" o f houses s h o u ld
be c o n s id e r e d a s one b u i l d i n g . Each ,!h o u s e n sh o u ld be c o n s id e r e d a s a
ren tal u n it.

c.

E n t e r th e number o f u p i t s f o r each c a t e g o r y .

d.

Use th e s q u a re f o o ta g e which c o rre s p o n d s t o th e commercial p o r t i o n used i n
I I . c . Note t h a t t h i s i s g ro ss commercial sq u a re f o o t a g e , i n c l u d i n g h a l l ­
ways, e l e v a t o r s , and o t h e r f a c i l i t i e s used t o s e r v i c e th e commercial a r e a s .
The FHA c a l c u l a t i o n f o r " n e t r e n t a b l e commercial a r e a 1' can n o t be u s e d .

e.

Record th e square f o o ta g e o f u n d e r- c o v e r p a r k i n g ( i n d o o r , c a r p o r t , and
canopied a r e a s ) which c o rre s p o n d s to th e p a r k i n g p o r t i o n used in I I . d .
i s n o t n e c e s s a r i l y th e t o t a l amount o f p a r k in g a v a i l a b l e f o r t e n a n t s .

Th i s

f.

The r e s i d e n t i a l square f o o ta g e i s th e t o t a l sq u a re fo o ta g e o f th e p r o j e c t
b u i ld i n g s minus th e commercial and th e u n d e r- c o v e r p a rk in g a r e a s . Note t h a t
t h i s i s g ro ss r e s i d e n t i a l square f o o ta g e , i n c l u d i n g h a ll w a y s , e l e v a t o r s ,
lau n d ry rooms, u t i l i t y rooms, and o t h e r f a c i l i t i e s used to s e r v i c e th e
r e s i d e n t i a l a r e a s . The FHA c a l c u l a t i o n f o r ’’n e t r e n t a b l e r e s i d e n t i a l area**
can n o t be u se d .

g.

I n c lu d e b u i l d i n g s h a v in g f r e i g h t and s e r v i c e e l e v a t o r s and e l e v a t o r s s e r v i c i n g
commercial a r e a s .




GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF PROJECT
a.

What does t h i s p r o j e c t c o n ta in ?

9

Code
1.
2.
3.
A.
b.

A
A
A
A

s i n g l e b u i l d i n g ( r e s i d e n t i a l o n ly )
s i n g l e b u i l d i n g ( r e s i d e n t i a l and com m ercial)
complex o f two o r more r e s i d e n t i a l b u i l d i n g s
complex o f two o r more r e s i d e n t i a l and commercial b u i l d i n g s

llow many r e s i d e n t i a l a p a rtm e n t b u i l d i n g s a r e t h e r e w ith th e
f o llo w in g s t o r i e s ? ( E n te r number o f b u i l d i n g s . )
10
Two o r t h r e e s t o r i e s . . • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

ii

Four t o s i x s t o r i e s • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

12

Seven to tw elve s t o r i e s • • • • • • ♦ • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

13

T h irteen to n in ete en s to r i e s • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

14

All

b Vv l l

bV

IIA4IV b VVii

WW
V *.

VU

15
How many o f th e f o ll o w i n g ty p e s o f r e s i d e n t i a l
r e n ta l u n its a re there?
( E n te r number o f u n i t s . )
E ffic ie n c y o r stu d io u n its • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • « •

16

One bedroom u n i t s

17

Two bedroom u n i t s

..............

18

Three o r more bedroom u n i t s ....................................................

19

d.

What i s th e t o t a l sq u a re fo o ta g e o f commercial
r e n t a l u n i t s ( e x c l u d in g p a rk in g ) ? ..............................

20

e.

How many square f e e t a r e p ro v id e d o f "u n d er c o v e r"
p a rk in g ( in d o o r g a r a g e , c a r p o r t ,
cano p ie d a r e a s , e t c . ) ? ......................... ............... . . . . . ...........

21

f.

What I s the t o t a l sq u a re f o o ta g e o f
' r e s i d e n t i a l a re a ?

22

g # How many b u i l d i n g s i n t h i s p r o j e c t have
‘e le v a to rs?
......... • • • • • • •




a.-j.




Code f o r the b u i l d i n g m a t e r i a l t h a t a c c o u n te d f o r th e h i g h e s t c o s t in
th e c o n s t r u c t i o n o f each ite m . F o r exam ple, i f wood p a n e lin g i s used
a lo n g w ith d ry w a ll ( w a ll b o a r d , s h e e t r o c k ) i n i n t e r i o r w a ll c o n s t r u c t i o n ,
and the m a t e r i a l and l a b o r c o s t s a s s o c i a t e d w ith d ry w a ll c o n s t r u c t i o n
a c c o u n ts f o r most o f th e i n t e r i o r w a l l c o n s t r u c t i o n c o s t s , use code
" 1 , " d r y w a ll.
E n te r only one code f o r each ite m .
Give an e x p la n a ti o n when e v e r an ite m ca n n o t be coded.

What I s th e p r i n c i p a l b u i l d i n g m a t e r i a l used f o r each
o f th e f o llo w in g :
a.

25

F o u n d a tio n ............................................................ ......................
Code
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

C o n c re te b lo c k
C o n c re te p i l i n g s
S teel p ilin g s
V e r t i c a l poured c o n c r e te
O th e r ( s p e c i f y )

.

t

b.

Frame ................ ..............................................................................
Code
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

c.

Wood
S teel
B rick
C o n c re te blo ck
R e in fo r c e d c o n c r e te
O th e r ( s p e c i f y ) _ _ _

Wall s h e a t h i n g .......................
Code
1.
2.
3.
4.

d.

Plywood
A s p h a lt paper o r board
None
O th e r ( s p e c i f y ) ______

E x te rio r w a lls
Code
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

B rick
Wood
Stucco
Aluminum s i d i n g
A s b e s to s o r a s p h a l t s h i n g l e s
Stone
Com position board
C u r t a i n w a l l ( s p e c i f y type o f m a t e r i a l )
O th e r ( s p e c i f y ) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _




26

N otes




e.

I n t e r i o r v a i l s ............................................................... ..

29

Code
1.
2.
3.
4.

f.

Drywall ( s h e e t r o c k )
P laster
Wood p a n e lin g
O th e r ( s p e c i f y ) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

F l o o r base ................

30

Code
1.
2.
3.
4.

g.

C o n c re te
Wood/plywood
S teel
O th e r ( s p e c i f y )

F l o o r c o v e rin g .......................................

31

Code
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
h.

Hardwood
A s p h a lt t i l e
V in y l and v i n y l a s b e s t o s t i l e
Linoleum
C a r p e tin g
O th e r ( s p e c i f y ) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Roof base .....................

32

Code
1.
2.
3.
4.

l.

C o n c re te
Wood/plywood
I n s u l a t i n g board
O th e r ( s p e c i f y )

Type o f r o o f c o v e rin g
Code
1.
2.
3.
4.

B u i l t up
A s p h a lt s h in g l e
Wood s h in g l e
O th e r ( s p e c i f y ) _




33

k .-o .
k.

Code th e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c which a c c o u n ts f o r th e h i g h e s t c o s t i n con­
s t r u c t i n g each ite m . E n t e r o n ly one code f o r each q u e s t i o n .
E n t e r code "1" ( " c e n t r a l t o p r o j e c t " ) f o r a o n e - b u i l d i n g p r o j e c t
h a v in g c e n t r a l h e a t i n g .




IV e

PRINCIPAL BUILDING MATERIALS AND FIXTURES— C ontinued
j.

C e i l i n g ........... ............................................................................
Code
1.
2.
3.
4.

A c c o u s ti c a l t i l e
Drywall
P laster
O th e r ( s p e c i f y ) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

What i s th e p r i n c i p a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c o f each o f
th e f o llo w in g :
k.

Type o f h e a t i n g u n i t ................................................
Code
1.
2.
3.
4.

1.

C e n t r a l to p r o j e c t
I n d i v i d u a l bwLlding h e a t i n g i n m u l t i - b u i l d i n g p r o j e c t
I n d i v i d u a l a p a rtm e n t h e a t i n g
O th e r ( s p e c i f y ) ______ _ _ _ _ _ ___________________

Type o f h e a t ..................

36

Code
1.
2*
3*
4,
5.

m.

F orced a i r
Hot w a te r o r steam
Baseboard e l e c t r i c
Wall u n i t
O th e r ( s p e c i f y ) __

H e a tin g f u e l ............
Code
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

E le c tric ity
Gas
O il
Coal
O th e r ( s p e c i f y )




37

n.

E n te r code "1" ( " c e n t r a l t o p r o j e c t " ) f o r a o n e - b u i l d i n g p r o j e c t h a v in g
c e n t r a l a i r c o n d i t i o n i n g , Window u n i t s " a r e room a i r c o n d i t i o n e r s which
a r e n o t p e rm a n e n tly a t t a c h e d to th e b u i l d i n g .

p.

"Compactors" a r e used to compress t r a s h a n d / o r garbage b e f o r e d i s p o s a l .

q.

W rite a b r i e f d e s c r i p t i o n o f th e r e c r e a t i o n a l f a c i l i t i e s which were i n c l u d e d i n
th e c o n t r a c t v a l u e . T h is i s n o t n e c e s s a r i l y th o s e f a c i l i t i e s a v a i l a b l e f o r
use by th e t e n a n t s . E x p l a in , when n e c e s s a r y , w h e th e r th e f a c i l i t i e s a r e
l o c a t e d i n s i d e o r o u t s i d e the b u i l d i n g s ( e . g . , " o u td o o r p o o l , " " in d o o r
p o o l").




n.

A ir c o n d i t i o n i n g . ................ .................................................
Code
1.
2.
3.
A.
5.

o.

C e n t r a l to p r o j e c t
In d iv id u a l b u ild in g a i r co n d itio n in g in m u lti- b u ild in g p r o je c t
I n d i v i d u a l a p a rtm e n t a i r c o n d i t i o n i n g
Window u n i t s
None

Laundry f a c i l i t i e s

39

Code
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
p.

C e n t r a l la u n d r y room(s)
Laundry room on each f l o o r
Laundry equipm ent i n each a p a rtm e n t
None
O th e r ( s p e c i f y ) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

I s t h i s p r o j e c t equipped w ith i n c i n e r a t o r s
o r compactors? ......... ................................................
Code
1.
2.

Yes
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 c lu d e d in
i n th e c o n t r a c t v a lu e :




40

r.

Modular o r c o m p le te ly p r e - f a b r i c a t e d b u i l d i n g s a r e o u t - o f - s c o p e fo* t h i s
s u rv e y . T h is q u e s t i o n , how ever, d e a ls w ith p r e - f a b r i c a t e d ite m s which
a r e used i n non-raodular b u i l d i n g s .




r.

Were any o f th e f o llo w in g p r e - f a b r i c a t e d m a t e r i a l s
used i n the c o n s t r u c t i o n o f t h e p r o j e c t ?
( I f yes,
e n te r "1 .")
41

I n t e r i o r w a l l s ............
E x te rio r w a lls

............

42

P r e - f i n i s h e d s i d i n g ................ . . . . . . . ............. ..

43

P re -a ssera b le d windows ............................................... ........

44

Pre-hung doors ......... ..

45

Roof t r u s s e s

46

Gable ends

.........................

47

C o rn ic e s a n d / o r r o o f overhangs

48

P r e - f i n i s h e d o r p a n e l i z e d f l o o r s ....................... . . . .

49

P r e - s t r e s s e d c o n c r e te f l o o r p a n e ls ................ ..........

50

P r e -w ir e d e l e c t r i c a l c i r c u i t s

51

.................................. . .

O f f s i t e f a b r i c a t e d d u c t work ................................ ....

52

F i r e p l a c e s and chimneys ...................................................

53

S ta irc ase u n its

54

Plumbing t r e e s ................ ..

55

Complete bathroom s .......................

56

Shower u n i t s

57

P a r t i a l k i t c h e n s .................................... ..................... ........

58

K itch e n c a b i n e t s . . • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

59

O th e r ( s p e c i f y )

60




s.

V.

C ro s s -c h e c k th e a p p l i a n c e s r e p o r t e d h e r e w i t h th e m a t e r i a l s r e c o r d e d on
th e B forms to make su re t h a t no a p p l i a n c e c o s t s have been o m i t t e d . I f
a p p l i a n c e s were pu rch a se d by th e d e v e lo p e r , i n c l u d e t h e s e c o s t s i n th e
c o n t r a c t v a lu e s I I . a , and I I . e . o f the A form , and a d j u s t th e g e n e ra l
c o n t r a c t o r ' s B form t o in c lu d e th e s e ite m s i n h i s c o n t r a c t amount and
m a te ria ls c o sts.

WORK STOPPAGES
Count th e number o f days d u r in g the c o n s t r u c t i o n p e r i o d when a l l o n - s i t e
work was c o m p le te ly sto p p e d . When t h e r e a r e s e v e r a l com plete s to p p a g e s ,
add th e number o f days th e work was s to p p e d . C o n v e rt t h i s to an e q u i v a l e n t
number o f work weeks and round t o a whole number.




8•

How many o f each o f th e f o ll o w i n g a p p l i a n c e s were
i n s t a l l e d in th e p r o j e c t ?
(Exclude a p p l i a n c e s
s u p p li e d by o u t s i d e f ir m s f o r r e n t o r c o n c e s s i o n . )
S to v e s ............................................................... .....................

61

R e f r i g e r a t o r s ............................................................. ....

62

Dishwashers ..........................................................................

63

Garbage d i s p o s a l s ................................

64

Washers • ................................ • • • • • • • • • . ...........................

65

D ryers .................. ..................................................................

66

E x t r a c t o r s ................ .............................................. .............

67

V# WORK STOPPAGES
a.

b.

I f t h e r e were any com plete work sto p p a g e s d u r in g th e
c o n s t r u c t i o n o f t h i s p r o j e c t , such as m a t e r i a l s h o r t a g e s ,
s t r i k e s , o r d i s r u p t i v e w e a t h e r , e n t e r th e t o t a l
number o f work weeks l o s t due to such s to p p a g e s .
(Round to whole num bers. ) ................................
P l e a s e e x p la i n




any com plete s to p p a g e s :

68

VI # NUMBER OF CONTRACTS
I f t h i s in f o r m a tio n c a n n o t be a c c u r a t e l y com pleted a t th e i n i t i a l i n t e r v i e w
w ith th e g e n e ra l c o n t r a c t o r , i t should be com pleted l a t e r by th e a g e n t a f t e r
a l l c o n t r a c t o r s have been s c h e d u le d .




V I.

NUMBER OF CONTRACTS
a.

How many c o n t r a c t s were l e t f o r t h i s p r o j e c t ?
G e n e ral and prime c o n t r a c t s ............. .............................

69

S u b c o n t r a c ts ........................................... ............................ ..

70

Sub s u b c o n t r a c t s .................................................... ..

71

TOTAL ............................................................................................

72

How many B sc h e d u le s a r e a t t a c h e d f o r t h i s
p ro je c t?
......... ..............................................

Notes




73

BLS 2 6 5 2 .0 1 B




O f f i c e o f Management and
Budget No. 44R1381
A pproval e x p i r e s : 12-31-72

U .S . DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Bureau o f Labor S t a t i s t i c s
W ashington, D.C. 20212

CONTRACT INFORMATION

SURVEY OF
CONSTRUCTION LABOR REQUIREMENTS
FOR
MULTI-FAMILY HOUSING

The Bureau of Labor Statistics
will hold all information furn­
ished by the respondent in
strict confidence.

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS
T h i s form must be com pleted f o r each c o n t r a c t t h a t h a s been l e t on th e sam ple p r o j e c t .
I f ABC C o n s t r u c t i o n Company was awarded t h r e e s e p a r a t e c o n t r a c t s , t h r e e ” B” forms
f o r ABC w i l l o r d i n a r i l y be p r e p a r e d . An e x c e p t io n to t h i s r u l e o c c u r s when ABC
r e c o r d s a r e such t h a t l a b o r and m a t e r i a l c o s t s cannot be i d e n t i f i e d by c o n t r a c t .
I n t h i s c a s e , o n ly one nBM i s t o be p r e p a r e d .

1 . GENERAL IDENTIFICATION
T h is I n fo r m a tio n i s i n te n d e d f o r use o f th e R e g io n a l O f f i c e .
f*

Q u e s tio n I . f . i s used to a s s i g n 3 - d i g i t c o n t r a c t numbers to sub
s u b c o n t r a c t s . Sub s u b c o n t r a c t s sh o u ld be numbered c o n s e c u t i v e l y ,
s t a r t i n g w ith th e number im m ed ia te ly f o llo w in g th e h i g h e s t c o n t r a c t
number p r e v i o u s l y a s s i g n e d on the MAgent W o r k s h e e t.” Care s h o u ld
be ta k e n to a v o id a s s ig n m e n t o f d u p l i c a t e num bers.




I # GENERAL IDENTIFICATION
a.

FHA P r o j e c t No. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

b.

C o n t r a c t No* _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

c.

Name and a d d r e s s o f p r o j e c t

d.

Name, a d d r e s s , and t e le p h o n e o f c o n t r a c t o r / s u b c o n t r a c t o r

e.

Record o f c o n t a c t s w ith c o n t r a c t o r / s u b c o n t r a c t o r
Date o f v i s i t

f.

P e rso n c o n t a c t e d

F ie ld R ep resen tativ e

(Ask o n l y s u b c o n t r a c t o r s . ) Did any sub s u b c o n t r a c t o r pe rfo rm any o p e r a t i o n s
f o r you f o r t h i s c o n t r a c t ?
I f s o , who d id th e w ork, what o p e r a t i o n ( s ) d id
he p e r f o r m , and w hat was th e v a lu e o f h i s c o n t r a c t ?

C o n tract
number




Name, a d d r e s s , and te le p h o n e
o f sub s u b c o n t r a c t o r

Sub s u b c o n t r a c t
o p e ra tio n

V alue of
sub subc o n tra ct

The f o l l o w i n g codes a r e n e c e s s a r y f o r computer p r o c e s s i n g *of th e s c h e d u l e .
>fFHA P r o j e c t N o ,tf - The "F1IA p r o j e c t number” i s c o p ie d from th e A form
t o a l l th e c o rr e s p o n d in g B forms f o r the p r o j e c t ,
" C o n t r a c t N o.” - The 3 - d i g i t " c o n t r a c t number" i s d i f f e r e n t f o r each B
form w i t h i n a p r o j e c t . E n t e r the number which u n i q u e l y i d e n t i f i e s t h i s
c o n t r a c t (and t h i s B form) and which was a s s i g n e d to i t on th e "Agent
W orksheet" o r i n q u e s t i o n I . f . o f a s u b c o n t r a c t o r ’s B form.
"Major O p e r a ti o n Code" - E n te r "01" to i d e n t i f y th e g e n e ra l c o n t r a c t .
E n t e r t h e " c o n t r a c t o p e r a t i o n s code" (se e c o n t r a c t o p e r a t i o n s code l i s t )
f o r each prime o r s u b c o n t r a c t . When a s i n g l e s u b - c o n t r a c t i n v o lv e s more
th a n one c o n t r a c t o p e r a t i o n s code, code f o r the o p e r a t i o n t h a t a c c o u n t s
f o r the g r e a t e s t p a r t o f th e c o n t r a c t v a l u e , e x c lu d in g any o p e r a t i o n
t h a t h a s been sub s u b c o n t r a c t e d .
" C o n t r a c t No. o f C o n t r a c t f o r Which Work Was Done" - Leave t h i s b la n k f o r
th e g e n e r a l and prime c o n t r a c t s . O th e rw is e , e n t e r the code o f th e c o n t r a c t o r
who l e t th e s u b c o n t r a c t . I f , f o r exam ple, t h i s i s th e B form f o r c o n t r a c t
number 012, which was a s u b c o n t r a c t l e t by th e g e n e r a l c o n t r a c t o r (who i s
alw ays i d e n t i f i e d by c o n t r a c t number 0 0 1 ), your e n t r i e s sh o u ld be:
C o n tract
No.

( I f sub o r sub s u b c o n t r a c t )
C o n t r a c t No. o f c o n t r a c t
f o r which work was done
0 1 0 I 1

0 1 1 12
I f , how ever, t h i s i s the B form f o r c o n t r a c t number 043, which was a
s u b c o n t r a c t l e t by s u b c o n t r a c t o r 012, th en your e n t r i e s sh o u ld be:
C on tract
No.

( I f sub o r sub s u b c o n t r a c t )
C o n t r a c t No. o f c o n t r a c t
0 11
f o r which work was done

|2

01 A 13
II.

CONTRACT AMOUNT
The c o n t r a c t amount should r e f l e c t a l l change o r d e r s which to o k p l a c e
d u r in g c o n s t r u c t i o n . When d e te r m i n in g th e c o n t r a c t amount, e x c lu d e any
item s (such a s la n d and lan d developm ent) which were a l s o e x c lu d e d from
q u e s t i o n I I . a . o f A form.
The c o n t r a c t amounts f o r the g e n e ra l and a l l the prime c o n t r a c t s , when
added t o g e t h e r , sh o u ld e q u a l the p r o j e c t c o n t r a c t amount r e c o r d e d i n
q u e s t i o n I I . a . o f th e A form.
When a c o n t r a c t o r l e t s a s u b c o n t r a c t , in c lu d e the v a lu e o f t h a t subcon­
t r a c t on th e B form o f both c o n t r a c t o r s .
Round t o whole d o l l a r s ,

III.

CONTRACT OPERATIONS— See page 6




FllA
P ro je c t
No.

1 1 1 1 I.UII.

Major
C o n t r a c t operation
No.
code
i . 1 ...

( I f sub o r sub s u b c o n t r a c t )
C o n t r a c t No. o f c o n t r a c t
f o r which work was done

...I,..,.

CONTRACT AMOUNT
What was th e f i n a l c o n t r a c t amount, i n c l u d i n g
a l l change o r d e r s ?
(Round to whole d o l l a r s )

III.

CONTRACT OPERATIONS
Which o p e r a t i o n s a r e cov e re d by t h i s c o n t r a c t ?




III.

CONTRACT OPERATIONS
I d e n t i f y a l l th e o p e r a t i o n s which were covered by th e c o n t r a c t b e in g
s c h e d u le d . I f a c o n t r a c t o r l e t a s u b c o n t r a c t f o r p a r t o f the o r i g i n a l
c o n t r a c t , i n d i c a t e o n ly the c o n t r a c t o r ' s o p e r a t i o n s on h i s B form and
r e p o r t the s u b c o n t r a c t o p e r a t i o n s on the s u b c o n t r a c t o r ' s B form. A l l
c o n t r a c t o p e r a t i o n s com pleted d u r in g c o n s t r u c t i o n o f a p r o j e c t m ust be
r e f l e c t e d on a t l e a s t one B form f o r the p r o j e c t .

IV .

HEAVY EQUIPMENT
Code a l l heavey equipm ent used o n - s i t e f o r the c o n t r a c t . Exclude sm all
t o o l s , hand o r power, s in c e th e s e c o s t s sh o u ld be re c o r d e d under " m a t e r i a l s . "
"Heavy equipm ent" r e f e r s to l a r g e c o n s t r u c t i o n equipm ent which o r d i n a r i l y
o u t l i v e s any s i n g l e p r o j e c t . The " r e n t a l c o s t " you r e p o r t s h o u ld , t h e r e ­
f o r e , be l e s s than the t o t a l c o s t o f th e equipm ent and should r e f l e c t
o n ly t h a t p a r t o f th e t o t a l v a lu e t h a t was "used up" d u r in g work on the
sample p r o j e c t .
Give each type o f
th e " M a t e r i a l and
to th e SIC manual
vise the " M a te ria l
3 - d i g i t code.

equipment th e a p p r o p r i a t e 3 - d i g i t equipm ent code from
Equipment Code L i s t . " F i r s t use th e a l p h a b e t i c a l in d e x
to d e te rm in e the a p p r o p r i a t e 4 - d i g i t SIC c ode, and th e n
and Equipment Code L i s t " to f in d the c o r r e s p o n d in g

E n t e r the r e n t a l c o s t o r the d e p r e c i a t i o n (which can be e s t i m a t e d by a
" r e n t a l c o s t e q u i v a l e n c y " ) . The " hours o p e r a t e d " can be o m itte d i f c o s t
f i g u r e s a r e a v a i l a b l e . I f , how ever, a c c u r a t e c o s t e s t i m a t e s a r e n o t
a v a i l a b l e , e n t e r th e number o f h o u rs th e equipm ent was u s e d . The h o u rs
worked by the equipment o p e r a t o r can sometimes be used to e s ti m a t o ^"hours
o p e ra ted ."
F o r r e n t e d equipm ent, e n t e r th e a c t u a l r e n t a l c o s t h e r e and the o p e r a t o r ' s
h o u rs and pay under " l a b o r r e q u i r e m e n t s . " O p e r a t o r 's wages sh o u ld n e v e r
be in c lu d e d under "heavy e q u ip m e n t," even i f the equipm ent i s r e n t e d on a
" f u l ly o p erated " b a s is .
I f no heavy equipm ent was used f o r t h i s c o n t r a c t , w r i t e "none" u n d e r " ty p e
o f e q u ip m e n t." I f a d d i t i o n a l space is n e eded, use th e continuation sheet.
Round e n t r i e s to th e n e a r e s t ho u r o r th e n e a r e s t whole d o l l a r .
SAMPLE ENTRY
Type o f equipm ent
B u lld o z e r




E quip.
code
802

Hours
o p erated

R ental c o s t
$% 0

100
101

III.

IV .

CONTRACT OPERATIONS— C ontinued
Hardwood f l o o r i n g . .........................................

20

L in o le u m , v i n y l t i l e , and v i n y l - a s b e s t o s t i l e

21

Ceram ic t i l e

......................................... • • • • • ...........• • •

22

C a r p e t i n g ........................................ ...................................

23

R o o fin g and g u t t e r work .............................................

24

Garage door .................................. .....................................

25

O rnam ental i r o n work .................. .................................

26

T e r m ite e x t e r m i n a t i o n ................................. • • • • • • • •

27

C l e a n i n g ......... ............................................................. • • • •

28

A s p h a l t p a v in g ........................

29

••••••.•••

L a n d sc ap in g ..........................................................

30

O th e r ( s p e c i f y )

31

HEAVY EQUIPMENT
What t y p e s o f heavy equipm ent ( e . g . f c r a n e , t r a c t o r ) were used o n - s i t e , f o r t h i s
c o n t r a c t ? What were th e nr e n t a l c o s t s ” o f r e n t e d equ ip m e n t, o r th e " r e n t a l c o s t
e q u i v a l e n c i e s ” ( d e p r e c i a t i o n ) f o r th e time p e r i o d d u r in g which owned equipm ent
was used?
( I f r e n t a l c o s t c a n n o t be e s t i m a t e d , r e p o r t i n s t e a d th e number o f
h o u r s th e equipm ent was used o n - s i t e . )
Type o f equipm ent

E quip.
code

Hours
o p e ra te d

R e n ta l c o s t
$

100
101
102
103
104
105
106

T o t a l r e n t a l c o s t o f heavy equipm ent ............................................. ..




( O f f i c e use o n l y )

V.

MATERIALS AND SUPPLIES
a.

E n t e r th e t o t a l v a lu e o f a l l m a t e r i a l s and s u p p l i e s used in c o n s t r u c t i o n .
I n c lu d e s a l e s t a x . Exclude any c o n t r a c t o r p r o f i t o r o v e rh e a d . A lso
e x c lu d e the v a lu e o f m a t e r i a l s and s u p p l i e s th e c o n t r a c t o r may have used
t o c o n s t r u c t tem porary b u i l d i n g s o n - s i t e ( s u p e r i n t e n d a n t ' s s h a ^ k ;
p ro je c t d i r e c t o r s o f f i c e , e t c . ) .
The d e l i v e r e d , o n - s i t e c o s t o f m a t e r i a l s and s u p p l i e s i s the p u rc h a s e
p r i c e p lu s any c o s t s t h a t the c o n t r a c t o r a c c ru e d p r e p a r i n g and d e l i v e r i n g
th o s e m a t e r i a l s to th e s i t e . For exam ple, a c o n t r a c t o r may p u rc h a s e
s e m i - f a b r i c s t e d m a t e r i a l s and t h e n , i n h i s own shop, perform a d d i t i o n a l
f a b r i c a t i o n . The c o s t o f t h i s a d d i t i o n a l f a b r i c a t i o n should be i n c l u d e d
i n the t o t a l v a lu e you r e p o r t .

b.

Use t h i s s e c t i o n to d e s c r i b e , in d e t a i l , th e d i f f e r e n t m a t e r i a l s and
s u p p l i e s and t h e i r o n - s i t e c o s t t h a t a r e i n c lu d e d i n V. a .
When d e s c r i b i n g th e m a t e r i a l s , make s u re you i n c l u d e f o r each d i f f e r e n t
m a t e r i a l , (1) a d e s c r i p t i o n o f th e p ro d u c t and (2) the c o m p o s itio n of
th e p r o d u c t ( e . g . , c o p p e r, i r o n , p l a s t i c ) . The c o m p o s itio n f r e q u e n t l y
d e te rm in e s th e m a t e r i a l s code t h a t you a s s i g n to th e p r o d u c t .
The c o r r e c t code f o r any m a t e r i a l o r s u p p ly can be d e te rm in e d as
f o ll o w s :
(1) c l a s s i f y th e p r o d u c t by 4 - d i g i t SIC (use th e a l p h a b e t i c a l
in d ex in your SIC m an u a l): (2) c r o s s r e f e r e n c e t h a t SIC code t o your
,fM a t e r i a l s and Equipment Code L i s t . ” M a t e r i a l s codes 088, 098, 198,
298, 398, 498, 598, 698, 798, 898, and 998 sh o u ld be used o n ly as a
l a s t r e s o r t and o n ly when a more d e s c r i p t i v e code cannot be fo u n d .
D i f f e r e n t p r o d u c ts t h a t have th e same m a t e r i a l s code can be combined
and r e p o r t e d on one l i n e .
I f you cannot e a s i l y d e te rm in e th e s a l e s
t a x t o be in c lu d e d f o r any s i n g l e e n t r y , r e p o r t i n s t e a d the s a l e s ta x
rate .
(The computer w i l l use th e r a t e to a d j u s t the c o s t f i g u r e you
re p o rt.)
I f t h e r e a r e no m a t e r i a l s o r s u p p l i e s in v o lv e d i n a c o n t r a c t , e n t e r
"none" i n the d e s c r i p t i o n column o f t h i s form.
I f a d d i t i o n a l space i s n e eded, use the c o n t i n u a t i o n s h e e t f o r t h i s ite m .
Round a l l c o s t f i g u r e s to th e n e a r e s t d o l l a r .
R e p o rt m a t e r i a l s and s u p p l i e s i n the g r e a t e s t d e t a i l p o s s i b l e . For
exam ple, i f a c o n t r a c t o r purch a se d $ 1 0 ,0 0 0 .0 0 w orth o f c o n c r e te and
s t e e l p i p e , r e p o r t each type o f p ip e s e p a r a t e l y by m a t e r i a l s code
and v a l u e .
SAMPLE ENTRY
Name and d e s c r i p t i o n
of m ate ria l

M a te ria l
code

P ercent of
M atcri.nl c o s t s a l e s t a x t o
he added

C o n c re te p ip e

m2

$4275

S t e e l pipe

502

$5725




_ .

4 .5

20 0

4 .5

201

a.

b.

What was the t o t a l d e l i v e r e d , o n - s i t e c o s t
o f m a t e r i a l s and s u p p l i e s f o r t h i s con­
t r a c t , e x c lu d i n g o verhead and p r o f i t s ? . . .

32

What m a t e r i a l s 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 w hat was th e d e l i v e r e d , o n - s i t e c o s t o f each?

Name and d e s c r i p t i o n
of m aterial




M ate ria l
code

M a te ria l co st

$

Percent of
s a le s tax to
be added
200
201
202
203
20A
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
21A
215
216
217 ..
218
219

N o tes:




V.

MATERIALS AND SUPPLIES— C o n tin u e d




Name and d e s c r i p t i o n
of m aterial

M a te r ia l
code

Percent of
M a te r ia l c o s t s a l e s ta x to
be added
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235 _
236
237
i

238
539__

___240
241
242

a.

Complete t h i s q u e s t i o n f o r a l l c o n t r a c t s .

b.

I f com plete p a y r o l l r e c o r d s a r e a v a i l a b l e from FHA f o r o n - s i t e o c c u p a ­
t i o n s , s k ip V I . b . I f no i n f o r m a t io n i s a v a i l a b l e from FRA, com plete
t h i s s e c t i o n f o r a l l o n - s i t e j o 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 r o l l s a r e m is s in g from the FHA f i l e , e n t e r th e m is s in g p a y r o l l d a ta
i n V I . b . I f F1IA p a y r o l l s do n o t l i s t a l l o n - s i t e o c c u p a t i o n s , c om plete
V I .b . f o r any o t h e r o n - s i t e w o r k e r s , e s p e c i a l l y w o rk e rs in o c c u p a t io n s
n o t c o v ered by FHA/WHPC r e p o r t i n g r e q u i r e m e n ts .
When equipm ent i s r e n t e d on a ,!f u l l y o p e r a t e d ” b a s i s , r e c o r d th e
o p e r a t o r ’s wages i n V I .b .
Under ’’o c c u p a tio n c o d e , ” e n t e r th e code number (s e e Job L i s t 1 and 2)
t h a t b e s t d e s c r i b e s th e o c c u p a tio n b e in g r e p o r t e d .
The p a y r o l l p e r i o d e n d in g d a te f o r an a r r a y o f d a ta r e l a t i n g to th e
same pay p e r i o d need be e n t e r e d o n ly once and on th e f i r s t l i n e o f
p e r t i n e n t d a t a . I f a g g r e g a te d a ta a r e r e p o r t e d , e n t e r th e e n d in g
d a ta o f th e l a s t pay p e r i o d i n c l u d e d i n th e a g g r e g a te d a t a .
Under th e ’’m an -h o u rs” column, e n t e r t o t a l h o u rs worked ( s t r a i g h t time
p lu s o v e r t i m e ) . Round to a whole number. Record o n ly th e m an-hours
a c t u a l l y w orked. Do n o t in c l u d e m an-hours f o r h o l i d a y s , p a id v a c a t i o n s ,
s ic k le a v e , annual le a v e , e t c .
Under ’’e a r n i n g s r e l a t e d to h o u r s , ” e n t e r g ro ss pay b e fo r e any d e d u c ti o n s
f o r f e d e r a l o r s t a t e income t a x , e m p lo y e e s ’ s o c i a l s e c u r i t y t a x e s ,
e m p lo y e e s ’ h e a l t h , w e l f a r e , o r r e t i r e m e n t paym ents, e t c . Exclude from
g ro ss pay any payments the c o n t r a c t o r made to FICA, i n s u r a n c e , v a c a t i o n
and p e n s io n f u n d s , e t c . Exclude pay f o r h o l i d a y s , v a c a t i o n s , s i c k
l e a v e , a n n u a l l e a v e , e t c . A lso e x c lu d e s u b s i s t e n c e - a l l o w a n c e s and
t r a v e l a llo w a n c e s ( e x c e p t when t r a v e l tim e i s p a id a t th e w o r k e r ’s
h o u r l y pay r a t e ) .
The f o ll o w i n g i s an example o f an e n t r y f o r 2 employees who worked
40 and 48 h o u rs and who e a rn e d $160 and $200 r e s p e c t i v e l y .
SAMPLE ENTRY
O c c upation
code




010
on

P a y r o l l p e r io d
e n d in g d a te
10 / 5
/

Hours

E a rn in g s
r e l a t e d to h o u rs

/ 70

40

$160

600

/

48

$200

601

a.

Did t h i s c o n t r a c t o r have a l a b o r agreem ent
c o v e rin g any o f the work perform ed on
t h i s c o n t r a c t ? ...........................................................
Code

33

1 . - Yes
2 - No
b.

Complete the f o llo w in g f o r any o n - s i t e l a b o r n o t a l r e a d y r e f l e c t e d on th e
p a y r o l l s f i l e d w ith th e FHAf ( e . g . , m is s in g p a y r o l l s , h o u rs and e a r n i n g s
o f exempt employees who perform ed o n - s i t e work b u t who a r e n o t s u b j e c t
to FHA r e p o r t i n g r e q u i r e m e n ts ) .




O c c u p a tio n
Code

P a y r o ll p e r io d
endin E d a te

Hours

E a r n in g s
r e l a t e d to h o u r s

/

600

/

/

601

/

/

602

L.

/

603

......... /

/

604

/

/

605

J

/

606

/

/

607

/

/

608

/

/

609

J

/

610

/

/

611

/

/

612

/

/

61?

/

/

614

/

/

615

/

/

616

/

/

617

____ /

.

_

____

T o t a l e a r n in g s .................................. ....................
( O f f i c e use o n ly ' )

A s e p a r a t e B form must be com pleted f o r each c o n t r a c t l e t on th e sample
p r o j e c t . When a c t u a l d a ta f o r a c o n t r a c t c a nnot be o b t a i n e d b e c ause o f
r e f u s a l s , o u t - o f - b u s i n e s s , e t c . , d a ta w i l l have to be e s t i m a t e d f o r t h a t
c o n t r a c t . See T e c h n ic a l Memorandum P-1 f o r g uidance a b o u t how to
e s t i m a t e f o r m is s in g d a t a .




V I.

LABOR REQUIREMENTS— C ontinued
O ccupation
code

V II.

Payroll period
ending date

Hours

Earnings
r e la te d to hours

/

/

6 18

/

/

6 19

/

/

620

/

/

621

/

/

622

/

/

623

/

/

624

/

/

625

/

/

626

/

/

627

SCHEDULE STATUS
a.

(To be com pleted o n ly by a g e n t . ) I s t h i s a
com plete B form f o r t h i s c o n t r a c t ? ................
Code
1.
2.

b.




Yes
No

I f " n o ," p l e a s e e x p l a i n :

34




BLS 2 6 5 2 .01C




O f f i c e Qf M a n a g e m e n t a n d
B u d g e t No. AAR1381
Approval e x p ir e s : 12-31-72

U .S . DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Bureau o f Labor S t a t i s t i c s
W a s h i n g t o n , D.C. 20212

AGENT WORKSHEET

SURVEY OF
CONSTRUCTION LABOR REQUIREMENTS
FOR
MULTI-FAMILY HOUSING

T h e Bureau o f l. abor Stall s t i e s
will h o l d till information [urn t s h e d by the re s f o n d m i in
strict conf i de nc e .

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

T h i s form i s f o r a g e n t and R e g io n a l O f f i c e use o n l y .
T h i s document w i l l
be k e y p u n c h e d a n d w i l l n o t be t r a n s m i t t e d t o t h e W a s h i n g t o n O f f i c e .

not

Use t h i s w o r k s h e e t t o r e c o r d i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t t h e c o n t r a c t s a n d c o n t r a c t o r s
a s s o c i a t e d w i t h a s a m p l e 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 f r om 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 lso , use i t to a s s ig n
t h e Mc o n t r a c t n u m b e r ” y o u w i l l n e e d i n o r d e r t o c o d e t h e "B" f o r m f o r a n y
given c o n t r a c t .
I n f o h n a t i o n s e c u r e d f r o m FHA O f f i c e s a n d r e c o r d e d on t h i s f or m 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
project.
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 o n 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 a n d may r e f e r t o a c o n t r a c t o r ' s
source of supply r a t h e r than to a c o n tr a c to r to the 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 f r o m
t h e p r o j e c t d e v e l o p e r a n d who o r g a n i z e s , s u b c o n t r a c t s a n d o v e r s e e s a l l o r
n e a r l y a l l c o n s t r u c t i o n p e r f o r m e d on t h e p r o j e 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 l o p e r . H o w e v e r , a P r i me C o n t r a c t o r o r g a n i z e s , s u b c o n t r a c t s , a n d
o v e r s e e s o n l y one a s p e c t ( e . g . , p lu m b in g ; v e n t i l a t i o n ) o f c o n s t r u c t i o n .
S u b c o n t r a c t o r - T he 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 f r o m t h e
G e n e r a l C o n t r a c t o r o r Prime C o n t r a c t o r .
S u b c o n tra c ts a re u s u a lly li m i t e d to
o ne o r a few c o n s t r u c t i o 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 pe rforin p a r t o f
th e work s p e c i f i e d in the s u b c o n t r a c t .




a.

FRA P r o j e c t No. _ _ _ _ _ _ _

b.

Name a n d a d d r e s s o f p r o j e c t

II.

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 o f v i s i t

III.

Person co n tacted

F ield R epresentative

GENERAL CONTRACTOR IDENTIFICATIO N

R e c o r d t h e n a me , a d d r e s s , a n d t e l e p h o n e n u m b e r o f t h e g e n e r a l c o n t r a c t o r ,
t h e c o n t r a c t o p e r a t i o n s which he p e r f o r m e d , and th e v a l u e o f t h e g e n e r a l
contract.
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 .
C ontract
n um b er

001




Name, a d d r e s s , a nd t e l e p h o n e
of general co n tracto r

C ontract
operations

Value of
genera]
c on t:ra c t

R e c o r d t h e n a m e s , a d d r e s s e s , a nd t e l e p h o n e n u m b e r s o f t h e p r i m e c o n t r a c t o r s , th e o p e r a t i o n s w hich each p e r f o r m e d and th e v a l u e o f each prim e c o n t r a c t .
Use t h e c o n t r a c t n u m b e r s " 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 p r i m 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 , a n d t e l e p h o n e
o f prime c o n t r a c t o r

002

003

004

005

006

007

008

009

010

Notes:




C ontract
operations

V a l u e of.
prime
contra ct

F o r e a c h s u b c o n t r a c t p e r f o r m e d on t h e p r o j e c t , l i s t t h e n a me , a d d r e s s , a n d
t e l e p h o n e number o f t h e s u b c o n t r a c t o r , t h e s u b c o n t r a c t o p e r a t i o n s p e r f o r m e d ,
and th e v a l u e o f each s u b c o n t r a c t .
I n o r d e r t o i d e n t i f y each a d d i t i o n a l
c o n t r a c t on th 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 ith " O i l , ” and
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 c o r r e s p o n d i n g s u b s u b c o n t r a c t i n f o r m a t i o n i s r e c o r d e d i n q u e s t i o n I . f .
o f t h e B f o r m o f t h e s u b c o n t r a c t f o r w h i c h t h e w o r k was d o n e .
Continue
num bering th e sub s u b c o n t r a c t s so t h a t each 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.)
C ontract
nu mb e r

Oil

012

013

0 14

015

016

017

018

019




Name, a d d r e s s , a n d t e l e p h o n e
of subcontractor

C ontract
opera tio n s

Value of
sub­
contract

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1-

C ontract
n u mb e r

\




Contract
operations

Name, a d d r e s s , a n d t e l e p h o n e
, of subcontractor

1

Value o f
sub- ^
contract

i Value o f

r Contract
n umb er




Name, a d d r e s s , a nd t e l e p h o r e
of subcontractor

Contract
operations

sub­
contract

.....

I

\

N ot.es




C.PO

8 2 5 —4 9 7




Appendix C. Bibliography
The following are publications in the series of con­
struction labor requirements studies by the Office of
Productivity and Technology, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Civil works construction

Labor and Material Requirements for Civil Works Con­
struction 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.

study also provides a comparison of annual labor require­
ments for 1947—64.
Kutscher, Ronald E. and Waite, Charles A., “Labor Re­
quirements 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.

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 em­
ployee-hours required per $1,000 of college housing con­
struction.
Miller, Stanley F., “Labor and Material Required for
College Housing,” Monthly Labor Review, September
1965, pp. 1100-04.

Federal office building construction

Labor Requirements for Federal Office Building Con­
struction (BLS Bulletin 1331), 1962, 43 pp.
A statistical study of onsite and offsite labor require­
ments 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 1441.
A summary of BLS Bulletin 1331.
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



Hospital construction

Labor Requirements for Hospital Construction (BLS Bul­
letin 1340), 1962,46 pp.
A statistical study of onsite and offsite labor require­
ments 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, Oc­
tober 1962, pp. 1120-24.
A summary of BLS Bulletin 1340.

Labor and Material Requirements for Hospital and Nursing
Home Construction (BLS Bulletin 1691), 1971, 50 pp.

represent four broad geographic regions of the con­
terminous United States.

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.

Finn, Joseph T., “Labor Requirements for Public Housing,”
Monthly Labor Review, April 1972, pp. 40—42.

Riche, Martha Farnsworth, “Man-hour Requirements De­
cline 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 Apart­
ment 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 require­
ments 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.

Summary of a study of labor requirements for public
housing construction in 1968.
School construction

Labor Requirements for School Construction, (BLS Bul­
letin 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 Require­
ments for School Construction,” Monthly Labor R e­
view, 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 Con­
struction,” Monthly Labor Review, August 1968, pp.
40-43.
A summary of BLS Bulletin 1586.
Sewer works construction

Labor and Material Requirements for Sewer Works Con­
struction (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.

Public housing construction

Labor and Material Requirements for Public Housing
Construction (BLS Bulletin 1402), May 1964,42 pp.

Ball, Claiborne M., “Employment Effects of Construction
Expenditures,” Monthly Labor Review, February 1965,
pp. 154-58.

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

A summary of labor requirements for eight types of
construction broken down by offsite and onsite hours, by
occupation, and by region.




Ball, Robert, “The Contract Construction Industry,” Tech­
nological 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 require­
ments studies.

from the program to measure productivity by type of
construction.
Weinberg, Edgar, Mechanization and Automation o f Build­
ing Site Work, National Response Paper for the Eco­
nomic 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 Con­
struction,” Monthly Labor Review, February 1969, pp.
3 -9 .

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 Com­
mission, September 14, 1972, Washington, D. C.

Ziegler, Martin, “BLS Construction Labor Requirements
Program,” paper before the North American Conference
on Labor Statistics, San Juan, Puerto Rico, June 1971.

Discussion of the BLS program of labor and material
requirements and analysis of the potential of using data

Construction labor requirements program and objectives
are discussed.




Discussion of methods for reducing occupational short­
ages.

tcmTate

MAJOR

W
l™: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
Desired




Title

Bulletin
Number

Date of
Publication

Price

Major Collective Bargaining Agreements:

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 ..............................

1425-1............ ...........1964 ............... .............. $ 1.45
1425-2............ ...........1965 ............... ..............
1.80
1425-3............
1425-4............
1425-5............
1425-6............
1425-7............
1425-8............
1425-9............
1425-10...........
1425-11...........

...........1965
...........1966
...........1966
...........1966
...........1969
...........1969
...........1969
...........1969
...........1970

............... ..............
............... ..............
............... ..............
............... ..............
............... ..............
............... ..............
............... ..............
............... ..............
...............

1.80
1.10
1.35
2.40
1.05
1.10
1.90
1.55
1.25

1425-12...........
1425-13...........
1425-14...........
1425-15 .........

...........1970
...........1972
...........1972
...........1974

.............. ............
............... ..............
............... ..............
............. ............

1.00
1.75
1.25
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

BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
REGIONAL OFFICES

Region I
1603 JFK Federal Building
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Boston, Mass. 02203
Phone: (617) 223-6761
Region II
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Region V
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Chicago , III. 60604
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Region V I
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Phone: (214) 749-3516

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Regions V II and V I I I *
911 Walnut Street
Kansas City, Mo. 64106
Phone: (816) 374-2481

Region IV
1371 Peachtree Street, NE.
Atlanta, Ga. 30309
Phone: (404 ) 526-5418

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