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, Dec. 30— Associated Builders and Contractors today issued the following statement from Vice President of Regulatory, Labor and State Affairs Ben Brubeck on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s final rule revising the definition of “waters of the United States.”

WASHINGTON, Dec. 15—For the fourth time, Florida claimed the top spot in Associated Builders and Contractors’ eighth annual Merit Shop Scorecard, a ranking of all 50 states and the District of Columbia based on policies and programs that strengthen career pathways in construction, encourage workforce development and advocate for fair and open competition on taxpayer-funded construction projects.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 9—Construction input prices declined 0.9% in November 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 fell 0.8% for the month.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 13—Associated Builders and Contractors reports today that its Construction Backlog Indicator increased to 9.2 months in November, according to an ABC member survey conducted Nov. 21 to Dec. 6. The reading is 0.8 months higher than in November 2021.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 2—The construction industry added 20,000 jobs on net 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 risen by 248,000 jobs, an increase of 3.3%. 

WASHINGTON, Dec. 1—National nonresidential construction spending was down by 0.3% in October, 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 $898.4 billion for the month.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 30—The construction industry had 371,000 job openings in October, 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 decreased by 52,000 last month and are down 21,000 from the same time last year.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 29—Associated Builders and Contractors released the following statement responding to guidance released today by the U.S. Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service regarding tax credits for private clean energy projects funded by the Inflation Reduction Act conditioned on compliance with prevailing wage and government-registered apprenticeship requirements.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 17—Associated Builders and Contractors today announced the details of ABC Convention 2023, which will take place at the Gaylord Palms in Kissimmee, Florida, from March 15-17. ABC’s annual convention celebrates the best of the best in merit shop construction, honoring the member companies and individuals who lead the industry in representing the association’s core values.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 16—Associated Builders and Contractors today announced that Milton Graugnard, executive vice president, Cajun Industries LLC, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was elected the 2023 ABC national chair at a board of directors meeting held in conjunction with the association’s annual Leadership Institute in Coronado, California.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 15—Construction input prices increased 0.3% in October 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 0.2% for the month.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 15—Associated Builders and Contractors reports today that its Construction Backlog Indicator declined to 8.8 months in October, according to an ABC member survey conducted Oct. 20 to Nov. 4. The reading is 0.7 months higher than in October 2021.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 7—Associated Builders and Contractors has submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service regarding implementation of tax credits for clean energy construction projects funded by the Inflation Reduction Act, contingent upon new controversial prevailing wage, apprenticeship and domestic content requirements.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 4—The construction industry added 1,000 jobs on net in October, 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 266,000 jobs, an increase of 3.6%.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 1—The construction industry had 422,000 job openings in September, 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 increased by 36,000 last month and are up 74,000 from a year ago.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 1—National nonresidential construction spending was up by 0.5% in September, 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 $883.9 billion for the month.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 1—Today, Associated Builders and Contractors and ABC of Connecticut joined the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and several other organizations in filing a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court District of Connecticut challenging an unconstitutional labor law passed by the state of Connecticut.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 27—The U.S. economy expanded at a 2.6% annualized rate in the third quarter of 2022, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data released today by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Investment in nonresidential structures decreased at an annual rate of 15.3% for the quarter and has now contracted in 10 of the past 12 quarters.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 3—The not seasonally adjusted national construction unemployment rate dropped 1.1% in September 2022 from a year ago, down from 4.5% to 3.4%, according to a state-by-state analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data released today by Associated Builders and Contractors. Forty-two states had lower unemployment rates over the same period, Arkansas and Wisconsin were unchanged and six states were higher. Almost half of the states had estimated construction unemployment rates at or below 3%.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 19—Associated Builders and Contractors has submitted more than 40 pages of comments to the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council calling on the Biden administration to withdraw a controversial proposed rule that would require anti-competitive and inflationary project labor agreements on federal construction contracts of $35 million or more.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 12—Construction input prices dipped 0.1% in September 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 fell 0.1% for the month.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 11—Associated Builders and Contractors today responded to the U.S. Department of Labor’s announcement of a proposed rule to rescind and replace a commonsense, ABC-supported final regulation on independent contractors.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 7—The construction industry added 19,000 jobs on net in September, 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, or 3.9%. 

WASHINGTON, Oct. 11—Associated Builders and Contractors reports today that its Construction Backlog Indicator increased to 9.0 months in September, according to an ABC member survey conducted Sept. 20 to Oct. 5. The reading is 1.4 months higher than in September 2021.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 4—The construction industry had 407,000 job openings in August, 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 increased by 54,000 last month and are up by 45,000 from the same time last year.

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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