Transportation construction investments generate $354 billion

The money invested in employment and purchases in the transportation construction industry generates $354 billion–or 2.25 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP)–annually in United States economic activity, according to an American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) report.

The report, “The U.S. Transportation Construction Industry Profile,” reveals that the annual GDP transportation construction employment and purchases is larger than that of 153 other nations, including Denmark, which generates $333 billion; Israel, which brings in $243 billion; and Venezuela, which makes $316 billion.

The report also shows that the annual value of transportation construction in the U.S. was nearly $120 billion by the end of 2012, ranking the sector larger than others in the industry such as commercial and healthcare structures, which reached $111.5 billion; motion pictures, valued at $108.3 billion in 2012; amusement parks and recreation, which reached $96.4 billion; mining, except oil and gas, at $90.9 billion; waste management, valued at $89 billion; and textile and apparel manufacturing, which reached $72.7 billion.

Also highlighted in the report is that the transportation construction industry supports 3.4 million full-time jobs in the U.S., generating more than $135 billion wages and about $11.6 billion in state and federal payroll taxes annually.

Of the jobs in the industry, 348,024 originate from or are sustained in California. New York has 307,527 of those jobs, Texas generates or sustains 303,364, Florida has 191,513, Pennsylvania makes up 166,199, Illinois creates or keeps 138,701, Ohio has 109,349, New Jersey generates or sustains 104,913, Georgia has 100,675 and Virginia makes up 93,931.

ARTBA created an interactive website to make the statistics from the report easy to view. It features a clickable U.S. map with job creation statistics, federal and state payroll tax revenue, the size of each state’s transportation network, current road and bridge conditions, commuting patterns and motor vehicle crashes.

To view the interactive website, visit transportationcreatesjobs.org.

Source Link: http://ow.ly/li8Eq