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, Aug. 3—The not seasonally adjusted national construction unemployment rate plunged 3.8% in June 2022 from June 2021, down from 7.5% to 3.7%. Meanwhile, all 50 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. Ten states had an estimated construction unemployment rate under 2%; the highest unemployment rate was 6.5% in New Mexico.

WASHINGTON, July 28—Associated Builders and Contractors today released the following statement regarding the Senate Democrats’ reckless tax and spending spree.

WASHINGTON, July 28—The U.S. economy contracted at a 0.9% annualized rate in the second quarter of 2022, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data released today by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

WASHINGTON, July 14—Construction input prices increased 1.9% in June 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 increased 1.8% for the month.

WASHINGTON, July 13—Associated Builders and Contractors today urged Congressional Democrats not to raise taxes on small, individual and family-owned businesses as part of any effort to enact a partisan reconciliation bill.  

WASHINGTON, July 12— Associated Builders and Contractors reports today that its Construction Backlog Indicator fell 0.1 months in June and stands at 8.9 months, according to an ABC member survey conducted June 21 to July 5. The reading is up 0.4 months from June 2021.

WASHINGTON, July 8—The construction industry added 13,000 jobs on net in June, 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 292,000 jobs, an increase of 4.0%. 

WASHINGTON, July 6—The construction industry registered 434,000 job openings in May, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Openings 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 decreased by 6,000 in May but are up 126,000 from the same month last year.

WASHINGTON, July 1—National nonresidential construction spending was down by 0.6% in May, 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 $832.5 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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