ABC: Backlog, Profit Margin Expectations Improve in April Despite Tariff Impacts

Associated Builders and Contractors reported that its Construction Backlog Indicator rose to a 20-month high of 8.7 months in April, according to an ABC member survey conducted April 22 to May 6. The reading is up 0.3 months since April 2024. Backlog has increased significantly over the past year for contractors with greater than $100 million in annual revenues. While backlog has also risen modestly for the smallest contractors, it is down on an annual basis for those with $30 million to $100 million in annual revenues. ABC’s Construction Confidence Index reading for profit margins improved in April, while the … Read more

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ABC Reports Construction Job Openings Decreased by 5,000 in June

The construction industry had 374,000 job openings on the last day of June, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors’ analysis of data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. JOLTS defines a job opening as any unfilled position for which an employer is actively recruiting. Industry job openings declined by 5,000 last month and are down 9,000 from the same time last year. “Some will focus on the fact that construction job openings declined in June,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “But the real story is that, despite massive interest rate increases … Read more

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Construction Adds 110K Jobs in March, ABC Says Here Comes Tsunami of Growth

The construction industry added 110,000 jobs in March, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The industry has added 931,000 jobs since April 2020, recovering 83.6% of the jobs lost during earlier stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. The construction unemployment rate fell to 8.6% in March from 9.6% in February, but it is still 1.7 percentage points higher than in March 2020. Unemployment across all industries declined from 6.2% in February to 6.0% in March. A significant percentage of the job growth was registered in nonresidential construction, which added … Read more

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