Input prices for new nonresidential construction rose 0.8% from December to January, the largest monthly gain in a year, according producer price index (PPI) data the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) posted on Thursday. PPIs are based on prices as of the 11th of the month, before President Trump took office or announced new tariffs. Outsized one-month increases occurred in the PPIs for asphalt paving mixtures and blocks, 15%; diesel fuel, 3.6%; cement, 2.0%; and copper and brass mill shapes, 1.9%. The PPI for new nonresidential building construction—a measure of prices that contractors say they would bid to erect a fixed set of buildings—rose 0.3% for the month. As it does each January, BLS adjusted the relative importance weights for inputs. AGC posted tables of construction PPIs. A reader sent a list of price increases announced by suppliers of wallboard, insulation, roofing, and copper products. Readers are invited to send information regarding materials costs to ken.simonson@agc.org.

Construction employment, seasonally adjusted, totaled 8,291,000 in January, a gain of 4,000 from December and 178,000 (2.2%) year-over-year (y/y), according to AGC’s analysis of data BLS posted on February 7. The y/y growth rate outpaced the 1.3% increase in total nonfarm payroll employment. Residential construction employment (at residential building and specialty contractors) dipped by 200 in January but climbed by 40,100 (1.2%) y/y. Nonresidential construction employment (at building, specialty trade, and heavy and civil engineering construction firms) increased by 4,400 for the month and 137,800 (3.3%) y/y. Seasonally adjusted average hourly earnings for production and nonsupervisory employees (craft and office) in construction rose 3.8% y/y to $36.54 per hour. That amounted to a “premium” of 18.5% over the private sector average of $30.84 for production workers. The number of unemployed jobseekers with construction experience totaled 669,000, not seasonally adjusted, a drop of 30,000 (-4.3%) from January 2024, and the unemployment rate for such workers slipped from 6.9% to 6.5%.

There were 217,000 job openings in construction, seasonally adjusted, at the end of December, down 50% y/y, BLS reported on February 4. Hires for the full month totaled 301,000, down 16% y/y. The steep declines in openings and hires suggests contractors have become more cautious about expanding. But layoffs also fell, by 15% y/y, suggesting firms are keeping current workers. Quits totaled 117,000, down 21% y/y to the lowest December total since 2013.

Construction spending (not adjusted for inflation) totaled $2.19 trillion in December at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, up 0.5% from November and up 4.3% y/y, the Census Bureau reported on February 3. Full-year spending rose 6.5% from 2023. Private residential construction rose 1.5% for the month, 6.0% y/y, and 5.9% for the full year. Single-family homebuilding rose 1.0% for the month, multifamily construction spending fell 0.3%, and owner-occupied improvements rose 2.6%. Private nonresidential construction spending rose 0.1% for the month, 2.3% y/y, and 5.3% for the full year. The largest private nonresidential segment—manufacturing construction—was flat for the month (including computer/electronic/electrical, down 0.7%, and chemical and pharmaceutical, up 1.7%). Commercial construction fell 0.3% (comprising warehouse, down 1.0%; retail, up 0.6%; and farm, down 0.2%). Power construction rose 0.3%. Private “office” construction increased 0.2% (comprising data centers, up 0.9%, and other, up 1.2%). Public construction spending fell 0.5% for the month but rose 4.1% y/y and 9.3% for the full year. Among the largest public segments, highway and street construction rose 4.1% for the month, educational construction slid 0.6%, and transportation construction slumped 1.3%. 

Construction industry wages and salaries rose 0.6%, seasonally adjusted, in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2024, down from 1.5% in Q3, BLS reported on January 31. From Q4 2023 to Q4 2024 construction wages rose 2.4% vs. 3.0% in 2023.

The “first year of new settlements reached in 2024 for union craft workers in the construction industry had an average increase of 4.7%, the same as in 2023,” the Construction Labor Research Council (CLRC) reported on January 31. “The most common percentage (the mode) moved up to 4.1-4.5% from 3.6-4.0% in 2022…the fastest growing range was…6.6% or higher. In 2024, almost 15% were in this category.” Among CLRC’s seven regions, increases ranged narrowly from 5.2% (Northwest and South) to 4.0% (New England). Among 15 crafts, increases ranged from 6.0% (pipefitters/plumbers) to 3.4% (ironworkers).

The number of union members in construction firms declined from 954,000 (10.7% of industry employment) in 2023 to 916,000 (10.3%) in 2024, BLS reported on January 22. Total employees represented by unions (including nonmembers whose jobs are covered by a union contract) fell from 1,017,000 (11.4% of employment) to 994,000 (11.2%).