ABC’s Construction Backlog Indicator is the only economic indicator that reflects the amount of work that will be performed by commercial and industrial construction contractors in the months ahead. The Construction Confidence Index is a diffusion index that signals construction contractors’ expectations for sales, profit margins and staffing levels. View the methodology for both indicators. 

 

News Releases

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News Releases

WASHINGTON, Feb. 6—The not seasonally adjusted national construction unemployment rate dropped 0.6% in December 2022 from a year ago, down from 5% to 4.4%, according to a state-by-state analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data released today by Associated Builders and Contractors. Thirty-two states had lower unemployment rates over the same period, Iowa and Missouri were unchanged and 16 states were higher.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 19—Associated Builders and Contractors released the following remarks today regarding the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics’ annual Union Members Summary. According to 2022 data, the percent of construction industry wage and salary workers belonging to unions dropped to a record low of 11.7%, a decline from 12.6% in 2021.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 18—Construction input prices fell 2.7% in December 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 declined 2.7% for the month.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 10—Associated Builders and Contractors reports today that its Construction Backlog Indicator remained unchanged at 9.2 months in December, according to an ABC member survey conducted Dec. 20, 2022, to Jan. 5, 2023. The reading is one month higher than in December 2021.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 6—The construction industry added 28,000 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 risen by 231,000 jobs or 3.1%.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 9—Associated Builders and Contractors and leading global construction management software provider Procore, headquartered in Carpinteria, California, today announced they will expand their years-long relationship through a strategic partnership that will provide ABC members with trusted, innovative technologies and solutions to help better develop their people, win more work, create safer jobsites and increase profitability. Procore is the only ABC strategic partner that is a technology solutions provider.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 4—The construction industry registered 388,000 job openings in November, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. JOLTS defines a job opening as any unfilled position for which an employer is actively recruiting. Industry job openings declined by 2,000 last month but are up 22,000 from the same time last year.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 3—National nonresidential construction spending grew 0.9% in November, 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 $930.1 billion for the month.

ABC construction economic releases are published according to this schedule in 2023

For media inquiries, please contact Erika Walter, ABC director of media relations, at [email protected].

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