A typical change for construction starts between February and March is around +2.5%. This year, however, dwarfed that, as commercial construction starts climbed 18% from February to March to $28.5 billion, Construction Market Data reports. This is a significant spike even when compared to the typical March to April jump of 12%.
While the number of starts in March 2016 was not much different from March 2015 (+1.6 percent), the number of starts over the first three months of 2016 was 9.8% higher than the first quarter of 2015. The report also notes that February’s starts underwent an upward revision from $19.1 billion to 24.1 billion. The largest adjustments occurred in the structure categories of parking garages, private office buildings, and hospitals/clinics.
The construction sector added 37,000 jobs in March, which is the largest gain so far this year. The first three months of the year have seen an average gain of 25,000 jobs, or an increase of 7.1 percent compared to the 23,000 job-per-month average in Q1 2015. The year-over-year employment in construction for March was 4.7 percent, much faster than the pace for all jobs in the economy. March’s jobless rate for the construction sector was 8.7 percent, not great, but an improvement of March 2015’s 9.5 percent.
Among the types of construction that make up nonresidential building, commercial structures and institutional structures saw the largest change between the first quarter of 2016 and the first quarter of 2015 at +19.9% and +19.5% respectively. Heavy engineering has seen a smaller increase at 5.8%. Meanwhile, industrial construction dropped 59.3%.
Private office buildings accounted for the majority of construction starts in the commercial category with a total of $6.059 billion in the first quarter. Among institutional structures, school and college starts have been responsible for over half of the category’s construction so far with a total of $13.426 billion. Roads and bridges made up over a third of the heavy engineering category with $10.967 billion.
The South and the West saw the largest increases in commercial construction between first quarter 2015 and first quarter 2016 while the Midwest and Northeast saw regressions. The West was up 27.6% from 2015 and the South was up 18%. The Midwest dropped 9.1% and the northeast dropped 6.6%. On the whole, the U.S. has seen a 9.8% increase between 2015 and 2016 so far.
Overall, nonresidential building and engineering/civil work accounts for 62% of total construction in the country with residential activity accounting for 38%.
All of the starts figures found throughout CMD’s report are not seasonally adjusted or altered for inflation. They are expressed in ‘current’ as opposed to ‘constant’ dollars.
To read the report in its entirety and to view accompanying graphs, click here.
Related Stories
Industry Research | May 4, 2017
How your AEC firm can go from the shortlist to winning new business
Here are four key lessons to help you close more business.
Engineers | May 3, 2017
At first buoyed by Trump election, U.S. engineers now less optimistic about markets, new survey shows
The first quarter 2017 (Q1/17) of ACEC’s Engineering Business Index (EBI) dipped slightly (0.5 points) to 66.0.
Market Data | May 2, 2017
Nonresidential Spending loses steam after strong start to year
Spending in the segment totaled $708.6 billion on a seasonally adjusted, annualized basis.
Market Data | May 1, 2017
Nonresidential Fixed Investment surges despite sluggish economic in first quarter
Real gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 0.7 percent on a seasonally adjusted annualized rate during the first three months of the year.
Industry Research | Apr 28, 2017
A/E Industry lacks planning, but still spending large on hiring
The average 200-person A/E Firm is spending $200,000 on hiring, and not budgeting at all.
Architects | Apr 27, 2017
Number of U.S. architects holds steady, while professional mobility increases
New data from NCARB reveals that while the number of architects remains consistent, practitioners are looking to get licensed in multiple states.
Market Data | Apr 6, 2017
Architecture marketing: 5 tools to measure success
We’ve identified five architecture marketing tools that will help your firm evaluate if it’s on the track to more leads, higher growth, and broader brand visibility.
Market Data | Apr 3, 2017
Public nonresidential construction spending rebounds; overall spending unchanged in February
The segment totaled $701.9 billion on a seasonally adjusted annualized rate for the month, marking the seventh consecutive month in which nonresidential spending sat above the $700 billion threshold.
Market Data | Mar 29, 2017
Contractor confidence ends 2016 down but still in positive territory
Although all three diffusion indices in the survey fell by more than five points they remain well above the threshold of 50, which signals that construction activity will continue to be one of the few significant drivers of economic growth.
Industry Research | Mar 24, 2017
The business costs and benefits of restroom maintenance
Businesses that have pleasant, well-maintained restrooms can turn into customer magnets.
