News

At the end of 2014, construction spending reached $982 billion, its highest level since 2008, according to an analysis of Census Bureau data by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC).

Spending on U.S. construction projects is at its highest point since the economic downturn year of 2008, according to the Associated General Contractors of America, reaching $961 billion.

The construction industry’s atmosphere of optimism about increasing numbers of jobs was borne out by employment gains in December of last year, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC).

The overwhelming majority of construction firms anticipate adding new employees in 2015, according to a survey conducted by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC).

While the numbers for last November declined slightly, the Architectural Billings Index marked its seventh consecutive positive month — a good sign for the construction outlook in 2015.

Construction employers added 48,000 jobs for the year — making a total of 290,000 for the year — bringing unemployment in the sector down to 8.3%, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC).

Construction spending declined in November, but 2014 is still on track to beat 2013’s expenditures, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America.

Citing the “shale gale” — the increased production of North American shale oil and its downstream effects — a rise in residential construction (especially multi-family) and work on the Panama Canal, Ken Simonson, chief economist for the Associated General Contractors of America, said he foresees strong construction growth for 2015.

Despite a harsh winter, year-over-year construction spending has increased by the greatest amount since 2006, according to an analysis of Census Bureau data by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC).