WASHINGTON, Dec. 19—Leaders of the U.S. construction industry regained a degree of confidence in October 2019 with respect to near-term prospects for sales and profit margins, according to the Associated Builders and Contractors Construction Confidence Index released today. However, contractors became slightly less confident regarding their staffing levels during the next six months.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 18—Associated Builders and Contractors announced today that Greg Sizemore, the association’s vice president of health, safety, environment and workforce development, has been appointed vice chair of the Construction Industry Alliance for Suicide Prevention. In this role, Sizemore will help support the alliance’s mission to address suicide prevention as a construction health and safety priority and reach a zero-suicide industry.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 17—Associated Builders and Contractors reported today that its Construction Backlog Indicator remained virtually unchanged at 8.9 months in October, up just 0.2% from September’s reading.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 12—Construction input prices decreased 0.5% in November and are down 1.1% year over year, 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 decreased 0.4% for the month and are down 1.0% since November 2018.  

WASHINGTON, Dec. 9—Associated Builders and Contractors released its 2019 Merit Shop Scorecard today, an annual ranking based on state policies and programs that encourage workforce development, career and technical education, job growth, and promote fair and open competition for taxpayer-funded construction projects.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 6—The construction industry added 1,000 net new jobs in November, 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 146,000 jobs, an increase of 2.0%. 

WASHINGTON, Dec. 4—Associated Builders and Contractors Chief Economist Anirban Basu forecasts continued momentum for the construction sector next year but advised an overall “wait-and-see” approach based on leading and lagging indicators and economic uncertainties, according to a 2020 economic outlook published in Construction Executive magazine.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 2—National nonresidential construction spending fell 0.7% in October but is up 1.4% compared to the same time last year, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data published today by the U.S. Census Bureau. On a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, spending totaled $776.5 billion, 2.3% lower than the cyclical peak attained in April 2019.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 3—In October, estimated not seasonally adjusted construction unemployment rates increased nationally and in 34 states, fell in 13 states and were unchanged in three states on a year-over-year basis, according to an analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data released today by Associated Builders and Contractors.