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. 24—Associated Builders and Contractors today voiced its strong support for the Fair and Open Competition Act (H.R. 1284 / S. 403), which was introduced today by Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.) and Rep. Ted Budd (R-N.C.).

WASHINGTON, Feb. 17—Construction input prices increased 2.5% in January 2021 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 2.1% for the month.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 11— Associated Builders and Contractors President and CEO Michael Bellaman released the follow statement on the vote by the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee to approve the nomination of Mayor Marty Walsh as secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor.

WASHINGTON, Feb.9—Associated Builders and Contractors reported today that its Construction Backlog Indicator rose to 7.5 months in January 2021, an increase of 0.2 months from its December 2020 reading, according to an ABC member survey conducted from Jan. 20 to Feb. 2. Despite the monthly uptick, backlog is 0.9 months lower than in January 2020.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 5—The construction industry lost 3,000 jobs on net in January 2021, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data released today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. During the last nine months, the industry has added 857,000 jobs, recovering 77% of the jobs lost during earlier pandemic stages.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 4—Associated Builders and Contractors President and CEO Michael Bellaman released the follow statement today in response to Congress’s reintroduction of the Protecting the Right to Organize Act

WASHINGTON, Feb. 4—As the nation struggles with the economic effects from the COVID-19 pandemic, construction employment continues to perform better than many other occupational groups, according to a state-by-state analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data released today by Associated Builders and Contractors. In December 2020, on a year-over-year basis, not seasonally adjusted construction unemployment rates rose nationally and in 48 states, and national NSA construction employment was down 125,000 from December 2019. However, national construction employment was only 3% below its pre-pandemic peak in February 2020 on a seasonally adjusted basis.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 1—National nonresidential construction spending declined 0.8% in December 2020, 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 $790.2 billion for the month, 4.8% lower than in December 2019 but 3.8% higher than in December 2018.

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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