A new report from the Associated General Contractors of America shows that construction spending hit $1.1 trillion in September, its highest level since March 2008. The report also concluded that those numbers could have been even higher, but for a shortage of construction workers. There were only 479,000 unemployed construction workers in September, the smallest total for that month in 15 years. A recent AGC survey found that 86 percent of construction firms say they’re having a hard time finding qualified workers.
Private residential construction spending was up 17 percent compared with a year ago, backed by an increase in multifamily projects while public projects were up 9.4 percent for the same period. Private non-residential construction spending was up nearly 15 percent compared with a year ago, but it was 0.7 percent less than in August.
“Overall, demand for construction continues to grow at a very robust rate,” said AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson. “It appears, however, that many firms performing private non-residential work could not find enough qualified workers in September to keep pace with growing demand.”
