The Underground Construction Economy in New Jersey

Abstract

The William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy was contracted to study the underground commercial construction economy in the state of New Jersey in 2016 for the Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Labor Management Committee of New Jersey, the Carpenter Contractor Trust, Associated Construction Contractors of New Jersey and Masonry Contractors of New Jersey. This research took a multi-pronged approach in exploring policy and best practices, presenting a data-driven analysis of the underground economy in New Jersey, and allowing construction leaders to speak freely about their experiences in the industry. The BACNJ and industry partners ACCNJ, MCNJ, Northeast Regional Council of Carpenters and Operating Engineers Local #825 contracted with the Hughes Center to update its original research in spring 2019. This report contains the updated findings. This report finds that the underground construction economy continues to thrive in New Jersey despite attention resulting from the original report and some steps taken by the state government to address the problem.

Gavin Rozzi

Pushing the boundaries of data, technology & public policy

Gavin Rozzi is a data scientist from New Jersey with expertise in leveraging public sector datasets, spatial data & mapping and emerging technologies to inform public policy development.