WASHINGTON, March 27—Associated Builders and Contractors Vice President of Legislative and Political Affairs Kristen Swearingen today issued the following statement about the signing of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, which provides $2 trillion in federal funding and programs to address the ongoing coronavirus crisis:

WASHINGTON, March 24—Estimated January not seasonally adjusted construction unemployment rates fell nationally and in 44 states, rose in four states and were unchanged in two states (Maine and North Carolina) 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.

WASHINGTON, March 19—Confidence among U.S. construction industry leaders generally improved in January, consistent with the burgeoning momentum of the U.S. economy during the early weeks of 2020, according to the Associated Builders and Contractors Construction Confidence Index released today. While the reading for sales expectations edged lower for the month, confidence pertaining to sales, profit margins and staffing levels remain well above the threshold of 50, signaling expected growth in those three metrics.

WASHINGTON, March 17—Associated Builders and Contractors reported today that its Construction Backlog rose to 8.9 months in January 2020, a 5.9% increase from December’s reading. Backlog for firms with less than $30 million in revenues expanded by nearly 20% after declining sharply in December.  

WASHINGTON, March 12—Construction input prices fell 0.6% in February and are up 0.4% year over year, 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 decreased by 0.6% but are up 0.3% compared to the same time last year.

WASHINGTON, March 11—Associated Builders and Contractors Vice President of Health, Safety, Environment and Workforce Development Greg Sizemore today issued the following statement on the release of the final Department of Labor industry-recognized apprenticeship rule:

WASHINGTON, March 9—Associated Builders and Contractors announced today that Matthew Abeles has been appointed to the newly created role of vice president of construction technology and innovation. As a leader in this space, Abeles will spearhead efforts to integrate construction technology and innovation into all aspects of ABC’s strategic initiatives, particularly total human health, world-class safety and workforce development.

WASHINGTON, March 9—Associated Builders and Contractors today released its 2020 Top Performers lists, which recognize ABC member contractors’ achievements in safety, quality, diversity and project excellence ranked by work hours, with special designations identified.

WASHINGTON, March 6—The construction industry added 42,000 net new jobs in February, 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 223,000 jobs, an increase of 3.0%.

WASHINGTON, March 2—National nonresidential construction spending increased by 1.6% in January and is up 5.1% on a year-ago basis, 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 a record $806.9 billion in January