Given these tough times news of new, fully funded infrastructure projects are highly welcomed by cities, labor, and ancillary services, such as restaurants and construction suppliers. But in a recent Mercury News article and editorial the paper highlights the propensity of construction proponents to well, stretch the truth a little. The paper goes on to describe the difference between jobs and job years:
Job-years is an excellent tool to calculate the amount of work needed to complete a project. A job-year is one year of work for one person; a new construction job that lasts five years is five job-years. It is a more precise measure because an individual job may last for six months or a year or forever.Recently this topic came up in recent job creation claims by the California High Speed Rail Association and the BART in promoting its East Bay extension into the Silicon Valley. Also Santa Clara County Supervisor and VTA chair Ken Yeager commented on local BART construction jobs in his New Year remarks. The paper goes on to tie the confusion to agency credibility:
In a weak economy like today's, construction jobs are a factor to consider for projects like stadiums and transit systems. But the main consideration has to be the long-term value to the community, once construction is finished. What's especially unfortunate about high-speed rail is that the real number of likely jobs, some 60,000, is substantial. Only because 1 million were touted is the rail authority's credibility further damaged.State high-speed rail vows to show real job figures (Mercury News 12-22-2011)
It's a cautionary tale for others. VTA, take note.
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