Construction Unemployment Rates Improve in 48 States in August

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — August not seasonally adjusted construction unemployment rates improved in 48 states and the nation on a year-over-year basis, according to a recent analysis released by Associated Builders and Contractors. The national NSA construction unemployment rate of 5.1 percent was 1 percent lower than a year ago, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, producing the lowest August construction unemployment rate on record. BLS data also showed that the industry employed 183,000 more people than in August 2015. “August 2016 continues the unbroken monthly streak of year-over-year rate declines in the construction unemployment rate that began … Read more

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Backlog Skyrockets for Largest Firms in Q2, Falls to 8.5 Months Overall

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Construction backlog for large contractors reached a new peak of 14.06 months during the second quarter of 2016 according to the Associated Builders and Contractors Construction Backlog Indicator recently released. The new high for companies with annual revenue above $100 million shattered the previous high of 12.25 months for any revenue segment, which was recorded in the first quarter of 2016 and second quarter of 2013. Nationally, average backlog fell to 8.5 months during the second quarter, down 1.6 percent from the prior quarter. CBI remained virtually unchanged on a year-over-year basis, signaling that growth in the … Read more

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Construction Employment Falters in August

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. construction industry lost 6,000 net jobs in August according to an analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released recently by Associated Builders and Contractors. BLS also downwardly revised July’s estimate from 14,000 net new jobs to 11,000 net new jobs meaning that the construction industry has lost 25,000 net jobs since April after adding 68,000 through the first three months of 2016. The nonresidential sector lost 10,700 net jobs in August after adding 9,600 jobs in July (revised down from 11,500). Employment in the heavy and civil engineering sector fell for the fourth time … Read more

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Construction Input Prices Dip in August

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Both nonresidential construction input prices and overall input prices fell in August as energy prices retrenched, according to a recent analysis of the Bureau of Labor Statistics Producer Price Index released by Associated  Builders and Contractors. Nonresidential construction input prices were down 0.2 percent on a month-over-month basis and 1.7 percent on a year-over-year basis. “The fact that overall construction input prices have remained stable is more important in the current context than it might be normally,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “With industry labor costs now rising aggressively and the subcontracting community generally busy, falling … Read more

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Nonresidential Spending Inches Lower in July, June Data Upwardly Revised to Eight-Year Record

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Nonresidential construction spending inched 0.3 percent lower in July largely due to a significant upward revision to June’s spending figure, according to analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data recently released by Associated Builders and Contractors. Nonresidential spending totaled $701.4 billion on a seasonally adjusted annualized basis in July, the second highest month since November of 2008, right behind June, which was revised upward from $682 billion to $703.5 billion. Public nonresidential spending continued to falter, declining 3.2 percent for the month and 6.5 percent for the year. “A number of factors have suppressed nonresidential construction spending over … Read more

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