News - ABC New Jersey

ABC: Nonunion Construction Workforce Tops 80% in 41 States

Associated Builders and Contractors today released an analysis of 2024 state union membership data published by unionstats.com, which found that in 41 states at least 80% of workers in the private construction industry did not belong to a union. At least 90% of workers in the private construction industry did not…

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ABC: Construction Labor Force Churn Accelerates in January

The construction industry had 236,000 job openings on the last day of January, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data released today in the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. JOLTS defines a job opening as any unfilled position for which an…

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ABC’s Construction Backlog Indicator Inches Lower in February, Contractor Confidence Remains Elevated

Associated Builders and Contractors reported today that its Construction Backlog Indicator fell to 8.3 months in February, according to an ABC member survey conducted Feb. 20 to March 5. The reading is up 0.2 months since February 2024. View the full Construction Backlog Indicator and Construction Confidence Index data series. Backlog…

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ABC: Construction Employment Growth Strong in February

The construction industry added 19,000 jobs on net in February, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data released today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. On a year-over-year basis, industry employment has increased by 174,000 jobs, an increase of 2.1%. Nonresidential construction employment increased by 6,200…

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ABC: PRO Act Reintroduction Is a Ruse To Appease Union Bosses

Associated Builders and Contractors today released the following statement regarding the reintroduction of the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, legislation that would violate workers’ free choice and privacy rights, force unions on employees who have voted against such representation, cost millions of American jobs and threaten vital supply chains. “Once…

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ABC: Nonresidential Construction Spending Up in January, But Concerns Abound

National nonresidential construction spending increased 0.1% in January, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data published today by the U.S. Census Bureau. On a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, nonresidential spending totaled $1.248 trillion. Spending was up on a monthly basis in 12 of the 16 nonresidential subcategories.…

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Debunking the myths about N.J.’s construction worker shortage

Construction is among the few industries where someone can become an apprentice, earn a paycheck while learning their craft and eventually become credentialed. There have been misleading assertions that individuals on foreign visas are to blame for union workers losing out on job opportunities. In a recently published opinion piece, it…

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ABC Proudly Announces Sponsorship of Construction Safety Week

Associated Builders and Contractors today announced its sponsorship of Construction Safety Week 2025, which will take place May 5-9, as a call to action for the entire contracting community to commit to a safer industry. “Total human health and safety are core values in building safer cultures, jobsites and employees, and…

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ABC Applauds GSA Decision To End Union-Only Contracting Schemes on Land Port of Entry Construction

Associated Builders and Contractors celebrated a Feb. 12 policy shift by the U.S. General Services Administration that will restore merit-based competition for infrastructure contracts to build land port of entry projects procured by the GSA. “The GSA’s new policy eliminates former President Joe Biden’s controversial rule requiring anti-competitive, inflationary, union-favoring project labor agreements on federal construction…

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ABC: Construction Materials Prices Increase 1.4% in January, Up 40.5% Since February 2020

Construction input prices increased 1.4% in January compared to the previous month, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Producer Price Index data released today. Nonresidential construction input prices increased 0.9% for the month. Overall construction input prices are 1.3% higher than a…