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
Urban Planning | Oct 12, 2023
Top 10 'future-ready' cities
With rising climate dilemmas, breakthroughs in technology, and aging infrastructure, the needs of our cities cannot be solved with a single silver bullet. This Point2 report compared the country's top cities over a variety of metrics.
Higher Education | Oct 10, 2023
Tracking the carbon footprint of higher education campuses in the era of online learning
With more effective use of their facilities, streamlining of administration, and thoughtful adoption of high-quality online learning, colleges and universities can raise enrollment by at least 30%, reducing their carbon footprint per student by 11% and lowering their cost per student by 15% with the same level of instruction and better student support.
Architects | Oct 4, 2023
Architects and contractors underestimate cyberattack risk
Design and construction industry firms underestimate their vulnerability to cyberattacks, according to a new report, Data Resilience in Design and Construction: How Digital Discipline Builds Stronger Firms by Dodge Construction Network and content security and management company Egnyte.
Building Materials | Oct 2, 2023
Purdue engineers develop intelligent architected materials
Purdue University civil engineers have developed innovative materials that can dissipate energy caused by various physical stresses without sustaining permanent damage.
Giants 400 | Sep 28, 2023
Top 100 University Building Construction Firms for 2023
Turner Construction, Whiting-Turner Contracting Co., STO Building Group, Suffolk Construction, and Skanska USA top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest university sector contractors and construction management firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report. Note: This ranking includes revenue for all university/college-related buildings except student residence halls, sports/recreation facilities, laboratories, S+T-related buildings, parking facilities, and performing arts centers (revenue for those buildings are reported in their respective Giants 400 ranking).
Construction Costs | Sep 28, 2023
U.S. construction market moves toward building material price stabilization
The newly released Quarterly Construction Cost Insights Report for Q3 2023 from Gordian reveals material costs remain high compared to prior years, but there is a move towards price stabilization for building and construction materials after years of significant fluctuations. In this report, top industry experts from Gordian, as well as from Gilbane, McCarthy Building Companies, and DPR Construction weigh in on the overall trends seen for construction material costs, and offer innovative solutions to navigate this terrain.
Multifamily Housing | Sep 26, 2023
Midwest metros see greatest rent increase in September 2023
While the median monthly price of rent has increased by 0.71% in August, the year-over-year estimates show a national change of -0.06 percent.
Data Centers | Sep 21, 2023
North American data center construction rises 25% to record high in first half of 2023, driven by growth of artificial intelligence
CBRE’s latest North American Data Center Trends Report found there is 2,287.6 megawatts (MW) of data center supply currently under construction in primary markets, reaching a new all-time high with more than 70% already preleased.
Data Centers | Sep 15, 2023
Power constraints are restricting data center market growth
There is record global demand for new data centers, but availability of power is hampering market growth. That’s one of the key findings from a new CBRE report: Global Data Center Trends 2023.
Contractors | Sep 12, 2023
The average U.S. contractor has 9.2 months worth of construction work in the pipeline, as of August 2023
Associated Builders and Contractors' Construction Backlog Indicator declined to 9.2 months in August, down 0.1 month, according to an ABC member survey conducted from Aug. 21 to Sept. 6. The reading is 0.5 months above the August 2022 level.
