New construction is a major component of the Nation's output of goods and services and an important source of employment. It creates jobs not only at the project sites, but also in the many manufacturing, trade, and transportation industries which furnish materials and equipment required in the construction processes. The Bureau of Labor Statistics has undertaken a series of studies to measure these labor requirements for various types of construction. The program of civil works construction under the Corps of Engineers--the construction of facilities such as dams, levees, dikes, and channels to control and develop the Nation's water resources--was chosen for early study because of the size of the program, because it is representative of an important part of heavy construction, and because it is the type of program frequently envisioned when public works construction is under consideration as a means of counteracting cyclical unemployment.