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From the category archives: Economics
On March 8, H.R. 1, the For the People Act, passed the Democratic-controlled U.S. House of Representatives by a party line vote of 234-193. ABC sent a letter in opposition to the legislation, arguing that it is an attack on free speech and would cripple the business structure of nonprofit associations such as ABC.
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On Feb. 28, the U.S. Senate voted to confirm Andrew Wheeler as administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency by a vote of 52 to 47. ABC sent a letter to senators in support of Wheeler’s confirmation based on his work as the acting administrator of the EPA to promote an effective environmental permitting process for construction projects, his proposal of a new Waters of the United States rule and his efforts to repeal and replace the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan with the Affordable Clean Energy Plan.
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While construction industry leaders remained confident in the third quarter of 2018, optimism slipped relative to the second quarter, according to the latest Construction Confidence Index released by ABC. Approximately three in four construction firms expect that sales will continue to rise over the next six months and closer to one in 10 expect sales to decline over the next two quarters.
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ABC reports that its Construction Backlog Indicator contracted to 9.04 months during the third quarter of 2018, down 8.4 percent from the second quarter and 4.3 percent lower than the same time last year. “Construction backlog reached its highest level ever during the second quarter,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu.
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Construction materials prices fell 1.8 percent in November, according to ABC's analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Despite the monthly decline, materials prices are still 5.3 percent higher than they were on a year-over-year basis.
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Construction employment expanded by 5,000 net new jobs in November, according to an analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data conducted by ABC. During the past 12 months, the industry has added 282,000 net new construction jobs, which translates into a 4 percent increase in total industry-wide employment.
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ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu forecasts another strong year for construction sector performance, yet warns about inflationary pressures, according to a 2019 economic outlook published in
Construction Executive magazine.
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National nonresidential spending increased 0.1 percent in October, according to an ABC analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data. Total nonresidential spending for the month stood at $763.8 billion on a seasonally adjusted annualized rate, which represents a 7.3 percent increase over the same time last year.
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Estimated October construction unemployment rates fell nationally and in 45 states on a year-over-year basis, according to ABC’s analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data. While the October 2018 not seasonally adjusted national construction unemployment rate fell 0.9 percent from a year ago to 3.6 percent, the construction industry employed 318,000 more workers nationally compared to October 2017, according to BLS statistics.
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Construction prices rose 0.5 percent in October and are 7.9 percent high than at the same time a year ago, according to an analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics Producer Price Index data conducted by ABC. Prices for nonresidential construction inputs also increased 0.5 percent on a month-over-month basis and are up by more than 8 percent on a year-over-year basis.
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