Employment Impact Analysis for Highway Operations

NHTSA · 2003 · ROSA P / United States. Department of Transportation

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Summary

This report addresses the lack of specific tools for estimating the employment impact of highway operations, a gap that has become significant as the U.S. interstate system shifted from construction to maintenance and operations. While models exist for construction spending, operations differ fundamentally in their labor intensity, skill requirements, and expenditure structures. The study was motivated by the need for policymakers to have credible, data-driven estimates of job creation from operational spending, particularly for economic stimulation initiatives. To address this, the researchers developed a new model based on the Transportation Satellite Accounts (TSA), an extension of the Bureau of Economic Analysis input-output tables. The model estimates total employment impact by combining direct hires with the direct and indirect employment effects generated by the purchase of goods and services for highway operations. The analysis focused on state-administered highways and categorized operations into administration and research, highway and traffic services, and law enforcement and safety. Due to resource constraints, the study excluded induced and enabling effects. The researchers derived necessary inputs—such as spending structures, employment-output ratios, and average employee compensation—from various sources, including the TSA, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and Federal Highway Administration statistics, rather than conducting new surveys. The results indicate that in 2000, highway operations expenditure accounted for over 15 percent of total spending on state-administered highways, generating 184,854 full-time job equivalents. This translates to an average of 17,810 jobs per billion dollars spent. Traffic supervision, toll collection, and snow and ice removal were identified as the largest job-creating activities, accounting for approximately 65 percent of total operational jobs. When compared to highway construction, the study found that operations generated 17,810 total jobs per billion dollars, whereas construction estimates varied by source: the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 25,330, the Federal Highway Administration reported 16,298, and the JOBMOD software reported 21,219. The significance of this work lies in providing a standardized, nationally consistent method for evaluating the labor impact of highway operations. By using the TSA, the model ensures that operational impact estimates are methodologically comparable to those used for construction investments. This allows policymakers to make informed decisions regarding the allocation of funds between construction and operations, recognizing that while construction may generate more jobs per dollar in some estimates, operations represent a substantial and distinct source of employment with different skill and income characteristics.

Key finding

Highway operations generated 184,854 full-time job equivalents in 2000, averaging 17,810 jobs per billion dollars of spending, with traffic supervision, toll collection, and snow and ice removal accounting for 65 percent of these jobs.

Methodology

modeling

Provenance

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