ABC’s Construction Backlog Indicator Rebounds in 2017

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WASHINGTON, D.C. –The most recent Construction Backlog Indicator from the Associated Builders and Contractors rose to 9 months during the first quarter of 2017, up 8.1 percent from the fourth quarter of 2016. CBI is up by .4 months, or 4 percent, on a year-over-year basis. Highlights by Region Surging financial markets helped support activity in financial centers like New York, Philadelphia and Boston. Expanding cyber-security and life sciences activity supported markets as geographically diverse as Washington, D.C./Baltimore, Maryland; Austin, Texas; Silicon Valley, California and Seattle, Washington. Though backlog is slightly lower in the South on a year-over-year basis, it … Read more

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ABC Announces Hire of Stephen Wiltshire as Safety Director

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Associated Builders and Contractors announced that veteran construction safety expert Stephen M. Wiltshire has joined its 70-person staff as director of safety. Wiltshire will direct programs and initiatives that support the achievement of ABC’s strategic safety goals, including the Safety Training Evaluation Process, a safety benchmarking and improvement tool for construction firms that can reduce incident rates by 87 percent. Wiltshire has designed and implemented award-winning safety programs, behavior-based training and loss control processes to create a culture of safety at ECS, Turner, Clark, AvalonBay and other construction firms in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, in addition … Read more

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Jobs Report Offers Reasons for Hope and Concern for Construction Industry, ABC Says

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — National construction employment added 11,000 net new jobs on a seasonally adjusted basis in May according to analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data released by Associated Builders and Contractors. The nonresidential construction sector added 4,400 net new jobs in May after losing 1,000 net jobs in April (revised down from a net increase of 3,200 jobs), while the residential sector added 7,100 net jobs for the month. Overall construction employment expanded 2.9 percent on yearly basis, well above the year-over-year growth rate of 1.6 percent for all nonfarm industries. “Today’s jobs numbers supply a mixture … Read more

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Construction Unemployment Rates Improve in 22 States, ABC Says

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — April not seasonally adjusted construction unemployment rates were down in 22 states and unchanged in two (Arkansas and California) on a year-over-year basis, according to analysis released by Associated Builders and Contractors. However, the national NSA construction unemployment rate of 6.3 percent was up .3 percent from April 2016, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Since these industry-specific rates are not seasonally adjusted, national and state-level unemployment rates are best evaluated on a year-over-year basis. “Despite the year-over-year increase, this was the third lowest national not seasonally adjusted April construction unemployment rate on … Read more

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Construction Job Growth Led by Nonresidential Sector, But Remains Tepid

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — National construction employment remained largely unchanged for the second consecutive month, adding 5,000 net new jobs on a seasonally adjusted basis in April, according to analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data released by Associated Builders and Contractors. The nonresidential construction sector added 3,200 net new jobs in April after adding 8,500 net jobs in March (revised down from 13,300), while the residential sector added just 900 net jobs for the month. Construction employment expanded 2.6 percent on yearly basis, well above the year-over-year growth rate for all nonfarm industries (+1.6 percent). “Today’s employment report confirms … Read more

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