Latest news with #AnirbanBasu
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Hiring rate, job openings remain historically low
This story was originally published on Construction Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Construction Dive newsletter. Construction counted 3,000 more open jobs on the last day of May compared with April, according to a Bureau of Labor Statistics report released Tuesday. The industry had 245,000 unfilled positions at the end of the month. That change was minimal compared to the month before, but the current market has been soft in recent months compared to last year, according to Associated Builders and Contractors Chief Economist Anirban Basu. May 2025 had about 35% fewer open positions than the same month in 2024. At the same time, layoffs also remained historically low, economists said, indicating that contractors are keen to hang onto their workers. 'These figures indicate that contractors are becoming more cautious overall, scaling back on growth and expansion plans, but not turning to widespread layoffs,' said Macrina Wilkins, senior research analyst for the Associated General Contractors of America. The reluctance to fire or layoff workers reflects an emphasis on labor retention, Wilkins said. 'Even with fewer openings and hires, firms are holding on to their current workforce, signaling the continued value they place on skilled workers amid persistent labor shortages and uncertainty around project pipelines,' Wilkins said. The year-to-date hiring rate in construction is lower than any other year in the series, which began 25 years ago, said Basu in a release. But low hiring rates, low layoffs and fewer openings don't paint the whole picture. 'Of course, it's unclear how immigration policy uncertainty is affecting these data,' Basu said. 'To the extent that a decline in the hiring of undocumented workers is not reflected, the industry could be significantly weaker than it appears.' Indeed, Immigration Customs and Enforcement raids on jobsites ramped up in May, so the impact on job hiring data is not yet clear. The raids, designed to detain and deport unauthorized workers, not only stall active projects but could have a chilling effect as other jobs pause or assess their workforce risks and needs, experts say. Nonetheless, Basu said contractors remain optimistic in the face of those numbers, with over half of ABC members reporting optimism for staffing in the second half of the year. Recommended Reading Job openings stagnate as labor churn flattens Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Backlog hits nearly 2-year high despite tariff worries
This story was originally published on Construction Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Construction Dive newsletter. Despite the threat of tariffs, construction backlog rose to its highest level since September 2023 and contractors' confidence in their future profit margins grew, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors survey April 22 to May 6. Backlog has increased significantly over the past year for contractors with greater than $100 million in annual revenues, according to ABC. Though backlog has also risen modestly for the smallest contractors, it is down year-over-year for those with $30 million to $100 million in annual revenues. 'Nearly 22% of contractors had a project delayed or canceled in April due to tariffs, up from 18% in March, while 87% have been notified of tariff-related materials prices increases,' said Anirban Basu, ABC chief economist. The survey is a look into how contractors are viewing their businesses following President Donald Trump's tariff saga and the whiplash some builders have felt following the introduction of those policies. Basu said that despite these headwinds, contractors are keeping busy. Even so, there are signs that builders are bracing for the future. 'While ABC members remain upbeat about the near-term outlook, the share of respondents that expect their sales to decline over the next six months rose to 19% in April, up 6 percentage points since the start of the year,' Basu said. Although commercial and institutional construction saw a slight gain in backlog, both heavy industrial and infrastructure work dropped, a departure from the previous month's reading. In addition, profit margin expectations improved in April, as the readings for sales and staffing levels fell, though the outlook for sales is still higher than a year ago, according to ABC. The readings for all three components remained above the threshold of 50, indicating respondents expect growth over the next six months. Right now, data centers are dominating the overall construction planning market, according to the April iteration of the Dodge Momentum Index, but other segments remained subdued.
The Hindu
25-04-2025
- Science
- The Hindu
UoH researchers find soil properties shaping root microbes of red gram
Red gram (pigeon pea, 'arhar in Hindi, 'kandi in Telugu) often referred to as the 'poor man's protein', is an important staple crop that significantly contributes to the protein intake in vegetarian diets across many countries, including India. Red gram thrives as a rainfed crop in the semi-arid regions of the world. Its roots form small and variously shaped nodules that engage in a symbiotic association with nitrogen-fixing bacteria, especially with 'Bradyrhizobium', one of the commonly known rhizobia. University of Hyderabad (UoH) researchers led by Appa Rao Podile and his team from the department of plant sciences had conducted a comprehensive genome analysis to explore the factors influencing the microbe diversity within red gram nodules. Different red gram genotypes like Asha, Durga, and Mannem Konda Kandi grown in different types of soils (Alfisol, Vertisol, and Inceptisol), as well as a wild relative of red gram in its native soil were examined for the study. Red gram and other legumes as hosts benefit with the symbiotic association with the rhizobia, because the rhizobia convert atmospheric nitrogen — comprising over 75% of the air — into a form plants can use, thus reducing the need for external nitrogen fertilizers for small-scale farmers. Nodules are not just filled with rhizobia alone, but several other microbes are also present in the nodules and around the nodules, which can impact the efficiency of the nodule in fixing atmospheric nitrogen. They found the presence of non-rhizobial bacterial endophytes in the red gram nodules was evident all through. The position of the nodule on the root, the type of soil in which the red gram is grown, the variety and other environmental factors that contribute to the composition of the microbe nodule were revealed. While the diversity of microbes in the nodule is less compared to bulk soil, it was more specialized, indicting the role of host selection. Another significant finding was that the microbes of the wild relative of red gram was dominated by 'Bradyrhizobium' while the cultivated varieties like Asha, Durga, and Mannem Konda Kandi had exhibited diverse bacterial communities. In the process of domestication, the native symbiosis appears to have been compromised. The study also highlighted that soil properties played a more significant role than the host plant genetics in shaping the nodule microbes indicating the importance of soil. The project was supported by the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), now known as 'Anusnadhan National Research Foundation' (ANRF) under the Department of Science and Technology (DST). Research students Anirban Basu, Chalasani Danteswari and PVSRN Sarma were involved in the work, said a press release.
