Economy

WASHINGTON, March 11—The construction industry had 236,000 job openings on the last day of January, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data released in the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. JOLTS defines a job op...

“The most salient aspect of life for consumers, contractors and the average American is the elevated rate of inflation.” Anirban Basu began his address to the crowd at ABC Convention 2025 with the one thing that’s been top of mind for Americans for the last half-decade. While inf...

WHAT WE LEARNED IN JANUARY: CONTRACTORS OPTIMISTIC DESPITE COOLING MOMENTUM The construction industry’s momentum faded somewhat over the past few months. Nonresidential spending growth has stalled, employment growth has slowed to a crawl and materials prices jumped higher in Ja...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 13—Construction input prices increased 1.4% in January compared to the previous month, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Producer Price Index data released today. Nonresidential construction input pri...

2024 will be remembered for many things. One on hand: strong consumer spending and stock performance; low unemployment; rate cuts; an artificial intelligence craze; the election. On the other: high house prices and mortgage rates; stagnant wages; labor shortages. Both the positiv...

As the construction industry rounds the halfway mark of the decade, the rearview looks a bit blurry. In just five short years, a global pandemic upended the way the world works, a supply-chain crisis sent material costs soaring and social justice protests forced leaders to reexam...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 3—National nonresidential construction spending decreased 0.2% in December 2024, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data published today by the U.S. Census Bureau. On a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, nonresidential spending tot...

What We Learned in December: Construction Industry Momentum Slows Construction industry momentum faltered somewhat in the final months of 2024. Spending slowed and is roughly flat over the past year after accounting for inflation, while industrywide job growth underwhelmed in De...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 14—Associated Builders and Contractors reported that its Construction Backlog Indicator inched down to 8.3 months in December, according to an ABC member survey conducted Dec. 20 to Jan. 6. The reading is down 0.3 months from December 2023. View ABC’s Constructi...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 10—The construction industry added just 8,000 jobs on net in December, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data released today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. On a year-over-year basis, industry employment has increased by 196,...