With each passing day, it seems as if there is a new type of insurance policy created to protect people and businesses alike. Many credit managers, for example, are already familiar with credit insurance, designed to ensure creditors are covered if a customer doesn't fulfill their debt. Published on Nov. 19, a Financial Times (FT) article explores ...

For those interested in the construction industry, now is the time to join as the sector experienced a significant increase of 10,000 jobs in October across the U.S. Thirty-nine states saw some form of growth last month, 28 of which increased more than 2.1%. According to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), nearly 150,000 residential a...

Construction input prices reached a plateau in October, showing a continued trend of little fluctuation over the past few months. The long-run data was less flattering, however, as prices decreased more than 2% year-over-year (YOY). With the main focus on nonresidential construction, input prices decreased monthly and annually by 0.1% and 2%, respe...

Although news outlets have cited the construction industry's slow adoption of technology, recent reports show contractors are opening up to the idea, specifically the use of artificial intelligence (AI). According to Construction Dive, two AI companies have received funding for their platforms, both of which were designed to improve project efficie...

Expectations for profit margins and staffing kept contractors confident in August when results exceeded July predictions. According to Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), the Construction Confidence Index (CCI) shows an increase in both factors, while sales expectations declined. More than half of the surveyed contractors anticipate an incre...

As unemployment continues to decline, the construction sector is among the industries to see job growth in September in what Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) Chief Economist Anirban Basu described as "another perfect employment data release." According to an ABC report on Oct. 4, net new construction jobs increased by 7,000 last month with...

The combination of job growth and low interest rates made for a successful month of new home sales in August, increasing nearly 6.5% over the 2018 results. On Sept. 25, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) reported more than a 7% increase in new single-family homes last month, up from economists' predictions in July. According to NAHB, ...

August housing starts saw the largest gain in 12 years, exceeding experts' predictions in July with a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.36 million units. Rising more than 12%, the surge in housing starts was attributed to a signification increase in the multifamily housing sector, where the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) said start...

To the delight of U.S. contractors, construction input prices not only dropped month-over-month (MoM) in August, but also year-over-year (YOY). According to Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), MoM input prices were down more than half of a percent, while YOY input prices fell nearly 1%. MoM and YOY input prices for nonresidential constructio...

Construction job growth expectations weren't achieved in August, but according to Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) Chief Economist Anirban Basu, overall employment was "just about perfect." After the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data release, ABC released its analysis on Sept. 6, citing a 2.4% increase in construction employment year-ov...

Construction unemployment isn't exactly where the industry wants it to be, but it has been worse. On Aug. 28, Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) reported unemployment rose in 38 states in July 2019 compared to July 2018, based on estimates that were not seasonally adjusted. However, despite the 0.4% increase in unemployment over the past yea...

As frequently as fraud is reported, many incidents end with companies suffering heavy financial losses. Sometimes, a lack of security or employee training is to blame, but there are also times when it's truly hard to detect a fraudulent transaction. Recently, the United States experienced a win on the fraud front after 80 defendants were indicted f...

Just as businesses beef up security, fraud evolves and strikes companies when they least expect it, sending security teams back to the drawing board. The latest attacks are affecting businesses in the U.S. and U.K. On Aug. 11, Financial Times reported a rise in cyber insurance policy claims in both countries. In the U.S., companies are learning abo...

Construction input prices experienced a modest comeback in July, but results have left some builders unsettled with the year-over-year (YOY) findings. Despite the 0.8% expansion month-over-month (MoM), input prices fell more than half a percent YOY in part by notable declines in natural gas, unprocessed energy materials, crude petroleum and softwoo...

Job growth in the construction industry continues to thrive after another month of increases in July, Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) reported on Aug. 2. With a year-over-year (YOY) increase of nearly 3%, 4,000 net new jobs were added to the industry last month, bringing the YOY change to 202,000. However, there was a decline in jobs in p...

Just as a storm can have a lasting impact on a community, cybersecurity experts say cyberattacks on small businesses and local governments can often leave a lasting path of destruction, making it difficult even after the affected have recuperated. For example, Symantec's Modern OS Security team released findings in early July that exposed a long-te...

Fresh into the dog days of summer, the U.S. construction industry is assessing contractors' confidence levels for nonresidential construction. According to Associated Builders and Contractors' (ABC) latest Construction Confidence Index (CCI) results in May, contractors are optimistic about sales expectations in the near future, yet show some uncert...

Monthly fluctuations are common, which is why construction economists weren't surprised to see a decrease in June's construction input prices. What experts didn't expect was the same decrease in year-over-year readings for the first time in nearly three years. On July 12, Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) reported a 1.3% decrease in month-o...

Job growth is continuing to rise in the construction industry, where 21,000 net new jobs were added in June. Based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) reported a total of 7,508,000 construction jobs last month—a 3.1% increase over June 2018. "Today's employment numbers indicate the economy is ...

Contractors are looking into the past to prepare for the future and, according to the latest Commercial Construction Index (CCI), the future is positive. USG Corp. and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce recently released the second-quarter CCI, where contractors responded with more optimism than the previous quarter. On June 19, Construction Dive reporte...