Construction employment rises in 36 states; BLS, Means, FHWA price indexes divergeEditor’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 36 states from August 2013 to August 2014, decreased in 12 states and the District of Columbia, and remained flat in Idaho and New Hampshire, an AGC analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data released last Friday showed. Florida again added the most jobs (43,500 jobs, 12%), followed by California (35,600, 5.6%) and Texas (27,700, 4.5%). The largest percentage gains were in Nevada (13%, 7,200 jobs), Florida, Utah (11%, 8,400) and Delaware (11%, 2,100). New Jersey had the worst construction job losses, -11,300 jobs and -8.1%, followed by Arizona, -5,400, -4.4% (fourth highest percentage loss); Mississippi, -3,700, -7.1% (second in percent lost); and West Virginia, -1,800, -5.3% (third in percent lost).
Employment hits 5-year high in August; Manpower poll implies more hiring next quarterEditor’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 rose by 142,000, seasonally adjusted, in August and 2,482,000 (1.8%) over 12 months, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported on September 5. Construction employment rose by 20,000 for the month and 232,000 (4.0%) over the year to 6,068,000, the highest total since May 2009. Residential construction employment (residential building and specialty trade contractors) climbed by 13,200 for the month and 123,100 (5.7%) for the year. Nonresidential employment (building, specialty trades, and heavy and civil engineering construction) increased by 6,400 in August and 108,600 (3.0%) year-over-year. All five residential and nonresidential segments added workers for the month and year.
September 15, 2014
Construction spending hits 5-1/2 year high; more metros add jobs; Beige Book is sunnyEditor’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 July totaled $981 billion at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, up 1.8% from the rate in June, up 8.2% from July 2013, and the highest level since December 2008, the Census Bureau reported last Tuesday. Census revised up the totals for June (by $14 billion) and May ($5 billion). Private residential spending increased 0.7% for the month and 8.0% over the latest 12 months; private nonresidential spending, 2.1% and 14%, respectively; and public construction spending, 3.0% and 2.1%.
September 08, 2014
39 states add jobs in July; housing starts and permits, MHC, ABI show big gainsEditor’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.View July state employment tables by state and rank here. Please note the next Data DIGest will be sent the week of Sept.2.Seasonally adjusted construction employment increased in 39 states from July 2013 to July 2014 and decreased in 11 states and the District of Columbia, an AGC analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data released last Monday showed. The largest percentage gains were in Nevada (13%, 7,500 jobs), Delaware (13%, 2,600) and Florida (11%, 41,700). Florida again added the most jobs, followed by Texas (23,600, 3.8%) and California (22,600, 3.6%). The steepest 12-month percentage losses again occurred in New Jersey (-6.5%, -8,900), followed by West Virginia (-5.8%, -2,000), Mississippi (-5.6%, -2,900) and Arizona (-4.8%, -5,900). New Jersey also had the highest number of lost jobs, followed by Arizona, Mississippi and West Virginia.
August 25, 2014
Construction spending skids in June; jobs rise in July; wage gains vary by sector, stateEditor’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 increased 0.1%, not seasonally adjusted (and seasonally adjusted), in July and 1.7% over 12 months, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported last Wednesday. 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. There are no indexes yet for other building types, residential or nonbuilding construction. The PPI for final demand construction, not seasonally adjusted, rose 0.5% in July and 3.3% over 12 months. The overall PPI for new nonresidential building construction—a measure of the price contractors say they would charge to build a fixed set of five categories of buildings—rose 0.4% for the month and 3.2% since July 2013.
August 18, 2014
Construction spending skids in June; jobs rise in July; wage gains vary by sector, stateEditor’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 June totaled $950 billion at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, down a steep 1.8% from May but up 5.5% from June 2013, the Census Bureau reported last Friday. Census revised up the totals for May (by $12 billion) and April ($5 billion). Private residential spending dropped 0.3% for the month but rose 7.4% over the latest 12 months; private nonresidential spending, -1.6% and 11%, respectively; and public construction spending, -4.0% and -2.9%. Of the three residential components, new single-family construction slid 1.4% in June but climbed 8.5% year-over-year; new multifamily, increased 2.5% and 33%, respectively; and improvements to existing residential structures, 0.4% and -0.2%.
August 11, 2014
Most metros add construction jobs in June; second-quarter employment costs stay mildEditor’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.From June 2013 to June 2014, construction employment increased in 215 out of 339 metropolitan areas for which the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports construction data, declined in 80 and was unchanged in 44, according to an analysis that AGC released last Wednesday. (The agency combines mining and logging with construction in most metros to avoid disclosing data for industries with few firms. Because metro data is not seasonally adjusted, comparisons with months other than June are not meaningful.)
August 04, 2014
MHC, AIA, NABE surveys imply improving construction market; retailers think smallEditor’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.“New construction starts in June advanced 6%” at a seasonally adjusted annual rate to the highest level so far in 2014, McGraw Hill Construction (MHC) reported last Tuesday. “Nonresidential building strengthened [+12%] after pulling back in May, with the lift coming from the start of several large manufacturing plant projects. Modest gains in June were also reported for housing [+3%] and nonbuilding construction (public works and electric utilities) [+2%]. During the first six months of 2014, total construction starts on an unadjusted basis were…up 1% from the same period a year ago….During the first two months of 2014 [activity was sluggish], but then the pace of construction starts began to pick up…‘The first half of 2014 revealed a mixed performance by project type,’ stated Robert A. Murray, chief economist for [MHC].
July 28, 2014
Most states add jobs year-over-year but not since May; most PPIs remain mild in JuneEditor’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 38 states and the District of Columbia from June 2013 to June 2014 and decreased in 12 states, an AGC analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data released Friday showed. The largest percentage gains were in Florida (11%, 41,700 jobs), Nevada (10%, 5,900) and Utah (9.3%, 6,800). Florida added the most jobs, followed by California (29,800, 4.7%) and Texas (19,100, 3.1%). The steepest 12-month percentage losses occurred in New Jersey (-8.1%, -11,200) and Alaska (-5.5%, -900). New Jersey lost the most construction jobs, followed by Arizona (-4,500, -3.6%). For the month, 21 states and D.C. added construction jobs, 27 states lost jobs and Arizona and New Mexico had no change.
July 21, 2014
Starts jump in June, Reed says; several reports point to growth in diverse segmentsin MayEditor’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 in June jumped 14% compared with June 2013, Reed Construction Data reported Friday, based on data it collected. Cumulative starts for the first half of 2014 exceeded January-June 2013 starts by 2.4%. Nonresidential building starts slipped 3.1% year-to-date, with a 14.5% drop in commercial starts offsetting gains of 5.9% for institutional buildings and 13.5% for industrial (manufacturing). Heavy engineering starts rose13% year-to-date.
July 14, 2014
