The unemployment report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows growth in both public and private construction spending, according to an analysis by ABC. Construction added 36,000 net new jobs in January, an impressive increase of 0.5 percent on a month-over-month basis.  

Nonresidential construction spending expanded 0.8 percent in December, totaling $720.4 billion on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to ABC's analysis of data released by the U.S. Census Bureau. This represents the fifth consecutive month during which the pace of nonresidential spending has increased. 

The U.S. economy grew by 2.3 percent in 2017, while fixed investment increased at an annual rate of 7.9 percent, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) analysis of data released today by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Overall construction input prices declined 0.1 percent in December, yet despite the lack of inflation for the month, prices are up 5 percent on a year-over-year basis, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) analysis of  Bureau of Labor Statistics data released today.  Nonresidential construction materials prices also declined 0.1 percent for the month and are up 4.8 percent from the same time one year ago. 

The nonresidential construction sector added 11,800 net new jobs in December, representing nearly 10 percent of the nation’s jobs created during the month, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) analysis of data released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The nation’s overall construction sector added 30,000 net new jobs in December, a 0.4 percent month-over-month increase.

Nonresidential construction spending expanded 0.6 percent in November, totaling $719.2 billion on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) analysis of data released today by the U.S. Census Bureau. Despite the month-over-month expansion, nonresidential spending fell 1.3 percent from November 2016. 

Chuck Goodrich, president of Gaylor Electric, Inc., explained the Trump administration’s regulatory rollback is giving construction companies more efficiency and they don’t feel like they are “under attack” from the federal government. According to Goodrich’s presentation, experts say President Trump is on pace to put out fewer rules than the “reigning deregulation champion,” President Ronald Reagan.

Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) Chief Economist Anirban Basu predicts stability for the construction industry’s economy and expanding nonresidential construction spending in 2018. While construction project backlog and contractor confidence remain high heading into the new year, Basu warns there are risks to the 2018 outlook as a number of potential cost increases could come into play.

Construction input prices expanded 0.7 percent in November and rose 5.6 percent on a yearly basis, the largest increase since November 2011, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) analysis of  Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Tuesday. Nonresidential construction materials prices also expanded 0.7 percent for the month and 5.4 percent for the year. Crude petroleum prices rose 11 percent in November and are 31 percent higher than this time last year. 

Providing more evidence of a strengthening economy, Associated Builders and Contractors’ (ABC) Construction Backlog Indicator (CBI) set a record as it expanded to 9.45 months during the third quarter of 2017, up 9.8 percent from the second quarter to the longest backlog reading in the eight-year history of the series.  CBI is up by 0.8 months, or 9.2 percent, on a year-over-year basis.