Ken Simonson's blog

Construction employment dips in March but wages move up; reports vary on cost trends

Editor’s note: Construction Citizen is proud to partner with AGC America to bring you AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson's Data DIGest. Check back each week to get Ken's expert analysis of what's happening in our industry.

Click here to register for a free 4/30 webcast "Will Construction Pick Up the Pace or the Pieces?" presented by AGC/AIA/CMD.

Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 126,000 in March, seasonally adjusted, and by 3,128,000 (2.3%) over 12 months, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported on Friday. Construction employment dipped by 1,000 for the month but increased by 282,000 (4.7%) over the year to 6,344,000. Residential construction employment (residential building and specialty trade contractors) dropped by 2,800 for the month but rose 136,300 (6.0%) over 12 months. Nonresidential employment (building, specialty trades, and heavy and civil engineering construction) increased by 1,100 in March and 145,000 (3.8%) year-over-year.    [node:read-more:link]

Construction spending flattens in February; employment rises in most states, metros

Editor’s note: Construction Citizen is proud to partner with AGC America to bring you AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson's Data DIGest. Check back each week to get Ken's expert analysis of what's happening in our industry.

Construction spending in February totaled $967 billion at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, down less than 0.1% from the rate in January, but up 2.1% from February 2014, the Census Bureau reported on Wednesday. Because unseasonably mild or severe weather can distort monthly comparisons in winter, it is more revealing to compare year-to-date figures for January and February combined. On that basis, total spending increased 2.0% from the same months of 2014, private residential spending slipped 1.0%, private nonresidential spending increased 4.3% and public construction spending gained 2.6%.    [node:read-more:link]

Construction employment rises in most states, metros in February; housing starts fall

Editor’s note: Construction Citizen is proud to partner with AGC America to bring you AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson's Data DIGest. Check back each week to get Ken's expert analysis of what's happening in our industry.

Click here to register for a free webcast, "Will Construction Pick Up the Pace or the Pieces?" featuring Ken Simonson presented by CMD.

Seasonally adjusted construction employment increased in 43 states and the District of Columbia from January 2014 to January 2015 and decreased in seven states, an AGC analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data released on Tuesday showed. Texas again added the most jobs (49,600 jobs, 7.9%), followed by California (37,800 jobs, 5.7%), Florida (31,800 jobs, 8.3%%), Washington (17,300 jobs, 11.1%) and New York (16,400 jobs, 5.0%). North Dakota (13.4%, 4,300 jobs) again added the highest percentage of construction jobs, followed by Idaho (12.7%, 4,400 jobs), Washington and Colorado (9.8%, 13,500 jobs).    [node:read-more:link]

PPIs in February, prospective prices are mixed; industry execs expect increased activity

Editor’s note: Construction Citizen is proud to partner with AGC America to bring you AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson's Data DIGest. Check back each week to get Ken's expert analysis of what's happening in our industry.

The producer price index (PPI) for final demand decreased 0.3%, not seasonally adjusted (-0.5%, seasonally adjusted), in February and 0.6% over 12 months, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported Friday. AGC posted an explanation and tables focusing on construction prices and costs. Final demand includes goods, services and five types of nonresidential buildings that BLS says make up 34% of total construction. The PPI for final demand construction, not seasonally adjusted, rose 0.2% in February and 2.0% over 12 months. The overall PPI for new nonresidential building construction—a measure of the price that contractors say they would charge to build a fixed set of five categories of buildings—climbed 2.0% since February 2014. The 12-month increases ranged from 1.0% for healthcare construction to 1.7% for schools, 2.1% for industrial buildings, 2.2% for warehouses, and 2.5% for offices.    [node:read-more:link]

Construction employment hits six-year high; Beige Book finds mixed conditions

Editor’s note: Construction Citizen is proud to partner with AGC America to bring you AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson's Data DIGest. Check back each week to get Ken's expert analysis of what's happening in our industry.

Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 295,000 in February, seasonally adjusted, and by 3,296,000 (2.7%) over 12 months, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported on Friday. Construction employment rose by 29,000 for the month and 321,000 (5.3%) over the year to 6,353,000, the highest total since February 2009. Residential construction employment (residential building and specialty trade contractors) climbed by 16,700 for the month and 167,800 (7.4%) over 12 months. Nonresidential employment (building, specialty trades, and heavy and civil engineering construction) increased by 12,000 in February and 153,400 (4.1%) year-over-year. Employees are working longer hours: average weekly hours in construction in February totaled 39.6 hours, the highest figure since the series began in March 2006.    [node:read-more:link]

Construction spending slips for month but rises year-over-year; input price cuts spread

Editor’s note: Construction Citizen is proud to partner with AGC America to bring you AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson's Data DIGest. Check back each week to get Ken's expert analysis of what's happening in our industry.

Construction spending in January totaled $971 billion at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, down 1.1% from the rate in December, but up 1.8% from January 2014, the Census Bureau reported today. Private residential spending in January climbed 0.6% from December but slid 3.4% from a year earlier, while private nonresidential spending fell 1.6% for the month but rose 4.8% year-over-year. Public construction spending decreased 2.6% from December but increased 5.1% from January 2014. The largest private nonresidential segment was power construction (including conventional and renewable power plus oil and gas fields and pipelines), which plunged 13% year-over-year.    [node:read-more:link]

Construction PPIs drop in January; Dodge starts rebound; ABI slips; housing is mixed

Editor’s note: Construction Citizen is proud to partner with AGC America to bring you AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson's Data DIGest. Check back each week to get Ken's expert analysis of what's happening in our industry.

The producer price index (PPI) for final demand decreased 0.7%, not seasonally adjusted (-0.8%, seasonally adjusted), in January and was flat over 12 months, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported on Wednesday. BLS introduced numerous new indexes for inputs to construction and updated the "relative importance" weights for the inputs to each series (available to readers by request to simonsonk@agc.org). AGC posted an explanation and tables focusing on construction prices and costs.    [node:read-more:link]

Nonres starts, materials prices show mixed trends in January, multiple sources show

Editor’s note: Construction Citizen is proud to partner with AGC America to bring you AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson's Data DIGest. Check back each week to get Ken's expert analysis of what's happening in our industry.

The value of nonresidential construction starts jumped 11% from January 2014 to January 2015, CMD (formerly Reed Construction Data) reported on Wednesday, based on data it collected. Heavy engineering starts surged 48%, while nonresidential building starts shrank 8.3%, with commercial building starts down 10% and institutional building starts up 0.1%.

Investment research firm Thompson Research Group issued a summary of its monthly survey of building products firms on Wednesday. "With the precipitous drop in energy prices, we remain focused on how this impacts building product manufacturers' ability to pass on pricing.   [node:read-more:link]

Construction employment rises nationally in January and in most metros in December

Editor’s note: Construction Citizen is proud to partner with AGC America to bring you AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson's Data DIGest. Check back each week to get Ken's expert analysis of what's happening in our industry.

Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 257,000 in January, seasonally adjusted, and by 3,207,000 (2.3%) over 12 months, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported on Friday. Construction employment rose by 39,000 for the month and 308,000 (5.1%) over the year to 6,314,000, the highest total since February 2009. Residential construction employment (residential building and specialty trade contractors) climbed by 20,100 for the month and 162,400 (7.2%) over 12 months.    [node:read-more:link]

Employment rises in 40 states in December; materials cost reports are mixed

Editor’s note: Construction Citizen is proud to partner with AGC America to bring you AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson's Data DIGest. Check back each week to get Ken's expert analysis of what's happening in our industry.

Seasonally adjusted construction employment increased in 40 states and the District of Columbia from December 2013 to December 2014 and decreased in 10 states, an AGC analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data released on Tuesday showed. Texas again added the most jobs (47,500 jobs, 7.7%), followed by Florida (34,300, 8.9%) and California (26,000, 4.0%). The largest percentage gains again occurred in North Dakota (26%, 8,300 jobs) and Utah (13%, 10,100), followed by Wisconsin (12.7%, 12,400) and Arkansas (12.6%, 5,800). The largest percentage losses again occurred in West Virginia (-9.1%, -3,000 jobs) and Mississippi (-7.5%, -4,000), followed by Hawaii (-4.5%, -1,400 jobs) and Arizona (-3.4%, -4,300). Arizona lost the most jobs, followed by Mississippi and West Virginia. For the month, 38 states and D.C. added construction jobs, 10 states lost jobs, and Indiana and New Mexico had no change. In much of the country, gains may have been aided by weather that was unseasonably mild in December 2014 and unusually severe in November and in December 2013.    [node:read-more:link]