Associated Builders and Contractors, and its Alabama chapter, have filed a petition for review with the U.S. Court of Appeals in the 11th Circuit against the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for its COVID-19 vaccination and testing Emergency Temporary Standard, which applies to employers with 100 or more employees.
Construction input prices increased 1.5% in October, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Producer Price Index data. Nonresidential construction input prices increased 1.4% for the month.
Associated Builders and Contractors reports that its Construction Backlog Indicator rose to 8.1 months in October, according to an ABC member survey conducted from Oct. 20 to Nov. 2. The reading is up 0.5 months from September 2021 and 0.4 months from October 2020.
The not seasonally adjusted national construction unemployment rate dropped 2.6% in September 2021 from a year ago while 49 states had lower unemployment rates over the same period, according to state-by-state analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data released by Associated Builders and Contractors. Only one state, Alaska, had a higher estimated rate than it did in September 2020.
National nonresidential construction spending contracted 0.6% in September, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data published by the U.S. Census Bureau. On a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, nonresidential spending totaled $791.2 billion for the month.
Investment in nonresidential structures contracted at an annual rate of 7.3% during the third quarter of 2021 and has now contracted during seven of the past eight quarters, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) analysis of data released by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Associated Builders and Contractors is calling attention to a new report that highlights the negative economic impact of controversial government-mandated project labor agreements on nonunion construction workers, who comprise 87.3% of the construction industry workforce.
“In addition to ongoing, global supply chain disruptions, which in many instances are worsening, transportation costs are surging due to rising fuel prices and insufficient capacity. This will put additional upward pressure on input prices which could cut contractor profit margins,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu.
“Nonresidential construction backlog declined for a second consecutive month as skills and input shortages hammer the industry,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu.
