WASHINGTON, June 30—It would take 14 years for federal and state government-registered apprenticeship programs to educate the 650,000 workers the construction industry needs to hire just in 2022, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of U.S. Department of Labor data from 2021. DOL data indicate that the construction industry’s federal government-registered apprenticeship system produced just 23,881 completers of its four-to-five-year apprenticeship programs, and in addition, construction industry apprenticeship programs registered with state governments produced an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 completers in FY 2021.

WASHINGTON, June 17—Associated Builders and Contractors, in reaction to the Biden administration’s announcement today of its Talent Pipeline Challenge initiative, released the following statement highlighting how exclusionary and anti-competitive measures promoted by the Biden administration will exacerbate the skilled labor shortage.

WASHINGTON, June 14—Construction input prices rose 2.3% in May 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 prices also increased 2.3% for the month.

WASHINGTON, June 14—Associated Builders and Contractors reports today that its Construction Backlog Indicator increased to nine months in May from 8.8 months in April, according to an ABC member survey conducted May 17 to June 3. The reading is up one month from May 2021.

WASHINGTON, June 3—The construction industry added 36,000 jobs on net in May, 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 expanded by 283,000 jobs, an increase of 3.8%.

WASHINGTON, June 1—The construction industry registered 449,000 job openings in April, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Opening and Labor Turnover Survey. The JOLTS survey defines a job opening as any unfilled position for which an employer is actively recruiting. Industry job openings increased by 23,000 last month and are up 120,000 from the same time last year.

WASHINGTON, June 1—National nonresidential construction spending was down 0.4% in April, 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 totaled $844.4 billion for the month. Despite the monthly setback, nonresidential construction spending is up 6.6% from a year ago.

WASHINGTON, May 18—In a comment letter filed on May 17, Associated Builders and Contractors urged President Biden’s U.S. Department of Labor to withdraw an inflationary and flawed proposed rule revising Davis-Bacon Act and Related Acts regulations that apply to federal and federally assisted construction projects funded by taxpayers.

WASHINGTON, May 16—The flawed method used by the federal government to calculate “prevailing wages” under the 91-year-old Davis-Bacon Act adds at least 7.2% to the cost of federal and federally assisted construction projects and inflates wages by 20.2% compared to local market averages, according to a new report from the Beacon Hill Institute. Associated Builders and Contractors has called on the U.S. Department of Labor to modernize its wage determination process for decades, but a proposed rule the agency released on March 18 actually makes this archaic and unscientific process even more inaccurate, inflationary and biased.

WASHINGTON, May 12—Construction input prices increased 0.8% in April 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 prices rose 0.9% for the month.

WASHINGTON, May 10—Associated Builders and Contractors reported today that its Construction Backlog Indicator increased to 8.8 months in April, according to an ABC member survey conducted from April 20 to May 4. The reading is up 0.9 months from April 2021.

WASHINGTON, May 6—The construction industry added 2,000 jobs on net in April, but nonresidential construction employment decreased by 2,000 positions, 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 expanded by 235,000 jobs, an increase of 3.2%. 

WASHINGTON, May 3—The construction industry had 396,000 job openings in March 2022, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data released today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Industry job openings increased by 13,000 in March and are up 60,000 from the same time last year.

WASHINGTON, May 2—National nonresidential construction spending was down 0.8% in March, 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 totaled $839.2 billion for the month.

WASHINGTON, May 4—Associated Builders and Contractors member contractors invested $1.6 billion to provide more than 1.3 million course attendees with craft, leadership and safety education in 2021, according to its 2022 Workforce Development Survey, up from $1.3 billion in 2020. The annual assessment quantifies the scope of ABC members’ workforce development initiatives to advance their employees’ careers in commercial and industrial construction to build the places where Americans live, work, learn, heal and play.  

WASHINGTON, April 28—The U.S. economy contracted at a 1.4% annualized rate during the first quarter of 2022. Investment in nonresidential structures declined at an annual rate of 0.9% during the quarter and has contracted nine of the past 10 quarters, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data released today by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

WASHINGTON, April 26—Associated Builders and Contractors today applauded a letter sent to President Joe Biden by 16 Republican governors, led by Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas and Bill Lee of Tennessee, opposing the Biden administration’s policies promoting government-mandated project labor agreements on taxpayer-funded construction projects.

WASHINGTON, April 27—The not seasonally adjusted national construction unemployment rate dropped 2.6% in March 2022 from a year ago, down from 8.6% to 6%, while 45 states had lower unemployment rates over the same period, according to a state-by-state analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data released today by Associated Builders and Contractors. This considerable improvement occurred as cases of the omicron variant fell and many states began lifting some or all of their COVID-19 restrictions.

WASHINGTON, April 19—Associated Builders and Contractors Vice President of Regulatory, Labor and State Affairs Ben Brubeck today issued the following statement on the final National Environmental Policy Act rule.

WASHINGTON, April 29—Associated Builders and Contractors today unveiled its 2022 Safety Performance Report, an annual, comprehensive study of the impact of the STEP Safety Management System and guide to safety best practices on construction jobsites. STEP is a proven system, more than 30 years old, that enables top-performing members to achieve incident rates 645% safer than the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics construction industry average. The annual study is published to coincide with Construction Safety Week, May 2-6.

WASHINGTON, April 13—Construction input prices rose 2.9% in March, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Producer Price Index data released today. Nonresidential construction input prices expanded 2.8% for the month.

WASHINGTON, April 12—Associated Builders and Contractors reported today that its Construction Backlog Indicator increased to 8.3 months in March, according to an ABC member survey conducted Mar. 22 to April 5. The reading is up 0.5 months from March 2021.

WASHINGTON, April 6—Today, Associated Builders and Contractors sent the White House a letter with more than 1,200 signatures from member companies and chapters representing the construction industry strongly opposing President Biden’s executive order mandating project labor agreements on federal public works projects exceeding $35 million.

WASHINGTON, April 1—National nonresidential construction spending was down 0.1% in February, 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 totaled $844.5 billion for the month.

WASHINGTON, April 1—The construction industry added 19,000 jobs on net in March, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data released today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. After 23 months of recovery, construction employment has at last exceeded pre-pandemic levels. On a year-over-year basis, industry employment has expanded by 220,000 jobs, an increase of 3.0%.