Providing more evidence of a strengthening economy, Associated Builders and Contractors’ (ABC) Construction Backlog Indicator (CBI) set a record as it expanded to 9.45 months during the third quarter of 2017, up 9.8 percent from the second quarter to the longest backlog reading in the eight-year history of the series.  CBI is up by 0.8 months, or 9.2 percent, on a year-over-year basis.

The nation’s construction sector added 24,000 net new jobs in November, representing a 0.3 percent month-over-month increase, according to ABC’s analysis regarding the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ data. Nonresidential construction employment added 8,600 net new jobs in November, a figure that would have been substantially higher were it not for heavy and civil engineering, which lost 7,800 for the month.

The majority of commercial and industrial contractors are confident about sales growth, profits and staffing levels heading into 2018, according to the latest Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) Construction Confidence Index (CCI). Despite rising construction labor and materials costs, 55 percent of contractors expect their profit margins to expand in the first half of 2018.

The U.S. Senate passed sweeping tax reform legislation on Dec. 2, overcoming a number of setbacks over the course of a long week.  The effort to win over holdouts and cobble together the necessary votes led to a number of late-breaking changes to the bill, culminating in what was essentially a party line vote, with Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) as the only dissenting Republican. 

Nonresidential construction spending rose 2.1 percent in October, totaling $717.6 billion on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to ABC’s analysis of data released by the U.S. Census Bureau. The level of spending, however, remains virtually unchanged from a year ago.

In its survey of Florida construction firms for the third quarter of 2017, Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) finds the confidence to fill open positions over the next six months remains low. Continued hurricane rebuilding efforts will likely exacerbate the challenge to find enough skilled labor in Florida to meet the level of project demand. Confidence in other areas of the survey remains high.

On Nov. 29, President Trump delivered a strong defense of reducing the tax burden on businesses of all sizes in his “Bring Back Main Street” Speech in St. Charles, Mo. He urged Congress to push tax reform across the finish line as the U.S. Senate is expected to vote on their version of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act this week.

On Nov. 28, The Senate Budget Committee voted to advance S.1, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act on a party line vote of 11-10. Senators Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) voted to send the bill to the Senate floor after originally withholding their support.

The not seasonally adjusted national construction unemployment rate was 4.5 percent in October, down 1.2 percent from a year ago, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. It was the lowest October rate on record, matching the rate in 2006, according to analysis by ABC. Further, the construction industry employed 180,000 more workers than in October 2016.

The private construction industry’s value added as a percentage of the nation’s real gross domestic product rose to 4 percent in 2016, the highest level since 2009, according to ABC. The report also shows annual growth in real construction spending, which rose 3.5 percent in 2016. Thirty-seven states benefited from the rise in construction activity in their state, while 13 states experienced a reduction in activity.