Nonresidential Construction Employment Expands in September, Says ABC

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The construction industry added 26,000 jobs on net in September, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data released recently by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. During the last five months, the industry has added 689,000 jobs, recovering approximately 64% of the jobs lost since the start of the pandemic. Nonresidential construction employment added 4,000 jobs on net in September. Two subsegments, nonresidential building and nonresidential specialty trade, experienced employment gains, adding 5,300 and 2,100 jobs, respectively. Heavy and civil engineering partially offset those gains, however, losing 3,400 jobs on net. The construction unemployment rate was 7.1% … Read more

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Monthly Construction Input Prices Rise in September, says ABC

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Construction input prices increased 1.6% in September compared to the previous month, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of Producer Price Index data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Nonresidential construction input prices rose 1.4% for the month. Among 11 subcategories, eight experienced monthly increases, with the largest increase registered in softwood lumber prices, which rose by 27.4%. The price of softwood lumber is up an astonishing 81.2% over the past year, a reflection of supply chain disruptions combined with the rapid expansion of single-family homebuilding. Natural gas prices were 12.1% higher than the previous month, … Read more

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ABC Receives Pledge to America’s Workers Presidential Award

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Associated Builders and Contractors has received the Pledge to America’s Workers Presidential Award, which was presented last month at a White House event. Among nine recipients, ABC was selected based on its achievements in workforce education and fulfilling its 2018 pledge to recruit and upskill at least 500,000 workers by 2023. In 2019 alone, ABC members invested $1.5 billion to provide more than 1.1 million course attendees with craft, leadership and safety education to build a construction workforce that is safe, skilled and productive. Safety education accounted for nearly half of the total workforce investment, averaging more than $1,100 per … Read more

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ABC Launches Tech Alliance to Help Contractors Transform Construction Process

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Associated Builders and Contractors has launched its inaugural Tech Alliance—a consortium of firms that create construction technology and innovative digital solutions for ABC contractor members, the majority of which are classified as small businesses and primarily perform work in the industrial and commercial sectors. Consisting of 13 companies, the Tech Alliance will leverage technology solutions to help ABC members develop people, win work and deliver work safely, ethically and profitably for the betterment of the communities in which they work. “The need for technological solutions—both big and small—in the construction industry is clear, especially given changing work conditions during the … Read more

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ABC Honors Student Winners of 2020 Construction Management Competition

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Twenty-six teams of undergraduate students from colleges and universities nationwide put their construction project leadership skills to the test during Associated Builders and Contractors’ annual Construction Management Competition, held virtually for the first time this month. The four-person teams, which were assigned to complete the same construction management project, received awards in five categories. The team from Florida International University won the overall competition, as well as first place in estimating and project management. The University of Wisconsin-Platteville won first place in safety and Montgomery College in Rockville, Maryland won first place in quality control. The University of Cincinnati (Ohio) … Read more

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