• While overall employment in the State of Delaware increased 9.01% between 1997 and 2002, employment within the construction industry rose by 23.07%, creating 4,712 new construction jobs as well as creating 113 new construction establishments in 5 years.

• Construction employees in Delaware made $36,122 on average in 2002, compared to $35,352, the national average salary in 2002 for construction workers across the United States.

• Construction workers in Delaware saw a salary increase of 16.54% from 1997-2002, compared to the average salary increase construction workers across the United States, which increased by 14.97%. 

• The number of businesses in Delaware grew from 18,385 in 1997 to 19,595 in 2002, an increase of 6.58%.  Construction establishments in Delaware however, increased by 4.93% from 2,294 in 1997 to 2,407 in 2002.

• Of the 1,210 new businesses established between 1997 and 2002 in Delaware, 113 or 9.34% of those establishments were in the construction industry.

• According to Union Membership and Coverage Database, available at www.unionstats.com, in 2006, only 10.9 percent of Delaware’s private construction workforce belonged to a construction trade union.  That means that approximately 90 out of 100 Delaware’s private construction workers do not belong to a labor union.

Data are from the U.S. Bureau of the Census except where noted.

• The dollar threshold amount for contract coverage under state prevailing wage laws in Delaware is $100,000 for new construction and $15,000 for remodeling.