Nov. 24, 2020 – According to Ken Simonson, chief economist for Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), selective materials shortages and price increases continue to affect contractors. AGC has received reports of cement shortages in California and Utah. Participants in the October ABI survey also reported problems. Overall, six in 10 responding firms this month indicated that they have seen some degree of…
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Construction Employment Declines in 26 States
Construction employment decreased from June to July in 26 states and the District of Columbia as earlier widespread job gains gave way to more project cancellations, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of government employment data. Association officials said construction employment is likely to continue falling in many parts of the country without new federal recovery measures, including liability reform…
Read MoreSimonson Says
July 21, 2020 – Ken Simonson, economist for the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), said that most states added construction jobs through mid-June, a promising sign. “The U.S. economy expanded at a slight to modest pace since the prior report as business activity varied across the country,” the Federal Reserve reported in the latest “Beige Book,” a summary of informal surveys of…
Read MoreImproved Economic Metrics
June 23, 2020 – According to Ken Simonson, the Associated General Contractors of America’s chief economist, the Census Bureau released the results of its seventh Small Business Pulse Survey, with responses from June 7 to 13, that “is intended to provide crucial weekly data on the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the nation’s businesses.” Again, there was modest improvement in several metrics…
Read MoreCensus Pulse Survey Finds Modest Improvements
June 15, 2020 – According to Ken Simonson, Associated General Contractors of America chief economist, the Census Bureau released the results of its sixth Small Business Pulse Survey, with responses from May 31 to June 6, that “is intended to provide crucial weekly data on the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the nation’s businesses.” There was modest improvement in several metrics for construction…
Read MoreAGC Economic Update
May 12, 2020 – According to Associated General Contractors (AGC) of America’s Economist Ken Simonson, construction technology firm Procore released an analysis of the decline in construction work hours since March 1 by week, state, project type and contractor revenue size, based on hours tracked by Procore clients. Hours totaled 14.0 million (representing roughly 400,000 employees) during the week of March 1. The data shows…
Read MoreImpact on Construction
April 7, 2020 – According to Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) chief economist Ken Simonson, once again last week, contractors reported more widespread impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on construction. AGC’s third weekly online survey, conducted March 30-April 2, drew 1,296 respondents, of whom 55% (up from 39% in the March 23-26 survey) reported that an owner (including a public owner regarding its own projects) had…
Read MoreConstruction Spending Rises in January; Highways Up
The U.S. Census Bureau announced that construction spending during January 2020 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,369.2 billion, 1.8% (±0.8%) above the revised December estimate of $1,345.5 billion.
Read MoreConstruction Spending Dives in December; Highways Up
Construction spending during December 2019 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,327.7 billion, 0.2% (± 0.8%) below the revised November estimate of $1,329.9 billion. The December figure is 5.0% (±1.3%) above the December 2018 estimate of $1,264.8 billion. The value of construction in 2019 was $1,303.5 billion, 0.3% (±1.0%) below the $1,307.2 billion spent in 2018.
Read MoreSimonson Said
Dec. 23, 2019 – Associated General Contractors (AGC) Chief Economist Ken Simonson is looking ahead to 2020. Despite staffing challenges, contractors are optimistic, on balance, regarding their hiring plans and the volume of work available in 2020 for nonresidential and multifamily construction, based on a survey that AGC just released. Respondents were asked whether the available dollar volume of projects they…
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