Vol. 23, No. 19 May 23-30, 2023 ABI slips in April; construction wages in 2022 outpaced other industries; data centers replace offices   ABI slips in April  The Architecture Billings Index (ABI) registered a score of 48.5, seasonally adjusted in April, down from 50.4 in March and the sixth reading in the past seven months below 50, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) reported on Wednesday… Read more Construction wages in 2022 outpaced other industries   The average weekly wage for all construction industry employees in the U.S. was $1544 in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2022, an increase of 1.2% from Q4 2021, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Wednesday in its Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages report… Read more Data centers replace offices  Data centers are replacing offices and other structures in some markets. In Loudoun County, Va., Amazon World Services plans to demolish nine buildings and replace them with four purpose-built data centers, the Washington Business Journal reported on May 22… Read more Renewed investment in retail space“A growing number of retailers in city office districts are relocating their businesses to the suburbs, where visits to shopping centers are on the rise as fewer people commute to downtown workplaces,” the Wall Street Journal reported on May 9… Read more Migration favoring more affordable livingIt “appears in domestic migration data that, years after lower-wage residents have been priced out of expensive coastal metros, higher-paid workers are now turning away from them, too,” the “Upshot” column of the New York Times reported on May 12… Read more