Simonson Plays Different Roles in Trade Association Post
In addition to his role as forecaster and analyst, Ken Simonson is one of the public faces of the Associated General Contractors of America as he offers the industry’s perspective to the media and a variety of audiences across the country. Such is the role of a trade association chief economist.
Talking about the public side of his job, Ken explains that he was hired by the AGC in 2001 to tell the association’s 32,000 member companies and other key constituencies about economic trends that affect construction. “When my boss recruited me, he said he was ‘looking for an economist who could turn data into sound bites.’ Therefore, a big part of my job is to tell the media and public how economic or policy developments affect construction,” Ken says.
His outreach includes sending a weekly one-page e-mail, The Data DIGest, on economic news relevant to construction, frequent presentations to industry and general audiences, and daily contact with media. “Some of the information, such as change in construction spending or employment, comes directly from government sources, but I dig into the Web site to show, for instance, that a downturn in housing may be masking strong performance by nonresidential segments,” Ken explains.
Watching Related Sectors Is Important
In some cases the data that he analyses has a more indirect tie to the construction sector. “For example, rising hotel occupancy rates and room rates make it likely that hotel chains will be renovating and building more properties,” Ken says.
Asked in an e-mail interview early in 2007 about the industry’s biggest challenges, Ken said: “One of the biggest economic issues for construction in the past three years has been the soaring cost of materials and components, such as steel, asphalt, and diesel fuel. This is hard to convey to people who hear only about the low rate of consumer price increases.”
To help put across the point that cost increases are different at the industry level, he tries to keep reporters and public officials, such as budget makers and highway engineers, informed about these trends. Ken sends these groups regular updates on construction cost trends, backing up his analysis with statistical tables taken from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ producer price indexes for specific construction sectors and materials.
Interest In Public Policy Made Connection to Economics
Drawn to economics early in his college experience, Ken says that he began his undergraduate work at the University of Chicago as a math major, but “found it too abstract.” After switching to economics, he found it to be “almost as theoretical until I took a course in public finance, where I was impressed by the notion you could use data and economic principles to analyze and perhaps affect public policy.”
He went on to earn a Masters in economics at Northwestern University and took additional courses in economics at Universite de Paris, Johns Hopkins, and Georgetown.“But I consider my real graduate education the five years I spent working for an economic consultant who had me build models to predict the impact of tax changes on the economy and specific industries,” Ken says.
To anyone considering a career in economics, Ken says he has enjoyed a variety of professional experiences in Washington, D.C. “There are opportunities with Congress, public agencies from local government to international organizations, consulting and accounting firms, public affairs and lobbying businesses, trade associations and think tanks,” he says.
Plus, as he can attest in his career moves, “it is relatively easy to leverage experience in one sector into another. Furthermore, you can make use of many skills--languages, communications or journalism, industry-specific experience. Always think about what you know from any part of your life that might be useful to an employer. And network constantly--you never know who might have a good lead for you.”
