Construction Outlook Continues to Look Good

October 13, 2015

The Dodge Momentum Index jumped 5.8 percent in September, extending the good news from August, which showed a 2.8 percent increase.

The Dodge Momentum Index is a monthly measure of the first report for nonresidential building projects in planning. Such projects have been shown to lead construction spending for nonresidential buildings by a full year.

According to Dodge, September’s numbers reflect a 12 percent increase in institutional building planning, which Dodge credits to state and local budgets recovering from “their recessionary weakness.”

In other recent economic news, construction employment showed little change in September, as the nation’s overall non-farm unemployment rate held steady at 5.1 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported.