Associated Builders and Contractors reports that its Construction Backlog Indicator rose to 8.1 months in February, according to an ABC member survey conducted Feb. 20 to March 6. The reading is up 0.1 months from January but down 0.2 months from February 2025.

The construction industry had 231,000 job openings on the last day of January, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. JOLTS defines a job opening as any unfilled position for which an employer is actively recruiting. Industry job openings decreased by 14,000 in January and are down by 1,000 from the same time last year.

Construction input prices increased 0.7% in January compared to the previous month, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Producer Price Index data. Nonresidential construction input prices increased 0.6% for the month.

The construction industry lost 11,000 jobs on net in February, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data. On a year-over-year basis, industry employment has grown by 42,000 jobs, an increase of 0.5%.

National nonresidential construction spending decreased 0.6% in December, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data. On a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, nonresidential spending totaled $1.24 trillion.

According to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of the new U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2025 Union Members Summary/, 11.1% of U.S. construction industry workers belong to a union, an increase from 10.3% in 2024, versus 88.9% who do not.

One phrase that many of you have heard from your fellow members and ABC MA staff is “More members, more clout.”  Every voice matters, and that’s especially true in a state like Massachusetts. The open shop accounts for 82.7 percent of the construction workforce, yet our voice is not proportionately reflected when it comes to issues affecting our industry.

The construction industry added 33,000 jobs on net in January, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data. On a year-over-year basis, industry employment has grown by 44,000 jobs, an increase of 0.5%.

Construction input prices decreased 0.6% in December compared to the previous month, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Producer Price Index data. Nonresidential construction input prices decreased 0.7% for the month.

The national December 2025 not seasonally adjusted construction unemployment rate was 5.0%, a 0.2% decrease from December 2024, according to a state-by-state analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data conducted by Associated Builders and Contractors. The analysis found that 60% of states (30) had lower estimated construction unemployment rates over the same period, 17 had higher rates and three states (New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Texas) had the same rate. All but five states had construction unemployment rates below 8%.