U.S. Census

Total Construction

Construction spending during April 2025 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $2,152.4 billion, 0.4 percent (±0.7 percent)* below the revised March estimate of $2,162.0 billion. The April figure is 0.5 percent (±1.2 percent)* below the April 2024 estimate of $2,163.2 billion. During the first four months of this year, construction spending amounted to $660.2 billion, 1.4 percent (±1.0 percent) above the $651.3 billion for the same period in 2024.

Private Construction

Spending on private construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,638.9 billion, 0.7 percent (±0.7 percent)* below the revised March estimate of $1,650.8 billion. Residential construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $892.8 billion in April, 0.9 percent (±1.3 percent)* below the revised March estimate of $900.7 billion. Nonresidential construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $746.0 billion in April, 0.5 percent (±0.7 percent)* below the revised March estimate of $750.1 billion.

Public Construction

In April, the estimated seasonally adjusted annual rate of public construction spending was $513.5 billion, 0.4 percent (±1.3 percent)* above the revised March estimate of $511.3 billion. Educational construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $110.9 billion, 0.1 percent (±1.5 percent)* below the revised March estimate of $111.0 billion. Highway construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $146.3 billion, 0.5 percent (±4.1 percent)* above the revised March estimate of $145.5 billion.

ABC

The construction industry added 4,000 jobs on net in May, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. On a year-over-year basis, industry employment has increased by 126,000 jobs, an increase of 1.5%.

Nonresidential construction employment increased by 11,300 positions, with growth in all three subcategories. Nonresidential specialty trade added the most jobs, increasing by 4,500 positions, while heavy and civil engineering and nonresidential building added 3,700 and 3,100 jobs, respectively.

The construction unemployment rate decreased to 3.5% in May. Unemployment across all industries remained unchanged at 4.2%.

“The nonresidential construction segment has now added jobs at over twice the pace of the broader economy during the past 12 months,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “This hiring has been aided by softness in the residential segment, which lost over 7,000 jobs in May, freeing up workers for nonresidential contractors. Even so, the industrywide unemployment rate fell to an exceptionally low 3.5% in May, indicating that the labor supply remains unusually tight.

“Despite healthy nonresidential hiring, the broader industry has added just 25,000 jobs from January to May,” said Basu. “That marks the slowest five-month employment growth since 2020 and provides a clear indication that high interest rates, tight lending standards and policy uncertainty are weighing on industrywide momentum. Of course, contractors remain broadly optimistic in the face of those headwinds, according to ABC’s Construction Confidence Index, with a majority of contractors expecting their staffing levels to increase over the next six months.”

 Associated Builders and Contractors reported that its Construction Backlog Indicator fell to 8.4 months in May, according to an ABC member survey conducted May 20 to June 3. The reading is up 0.1 months since May 2024.

View ABC’s Construction Backlog Indicator and Construction Confidence Index tables for May. View the full Construction Backlog Indicator and Construction Confidence Index data series.

While the South maintains the longest backlog of any region, it was the only one to experience a decline in May. Only the Northeast has a longer backlog on a year-over-year basis, while the other three regions experienced annual declines.

ABC’s Construction Confidence Index reading for profit margins improved in May, while the readings for sales and staffing levels fell. The readings for all three components remain above the threshold of 50, indicating expectations for growth over the next six months.

“The impacts of tariffs are increasingly apparent, with nearly 1 in 4 ABC member contractors reporting tariff-related project cancellations or delays in May,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “While 87% of survey respondents have been notified of tariff-related materials price increases, profit margin expectations actually improved in May.

“Of course, this survey was largely conducted prior to the announcement of the now-implemented 50% steel and aluminum tariffs, and margins will likely come under pressure in the coming months,” said Basu. “Despite this potential headwind, approximately 6 out of 10 contractors expect their sales to increase over the next two quarters, suggesting widespread optimism about the outlook.”

AIA

ABI April 2025: Billings Continue to Decline at Architecture Firms

8% of architecture firms report billings from international projects in the last year.

Architecture firm billings remained stagnant in April

The AIA/Deltek Architecture Billings Index (ABI) score declined to 43.2 for the month. Billings have declined for 28 of the last 31 months, since they first dipped back into negative territory following the post-pandemic boom. Despite generally strong backlogs at firms, inquiries into new work declined for the third consecutive month in April, while the value of new design contracts declined at the majority of firms for the fourteenth consecutive month. Although the U.S. economy is not officially in a recession at this time, many architecture firms are reporting recession-like business conditions.