Construction scores a hat trick: Starts, jobs, backlog all rise, reports Construction Dive in the US.

Nevertheless, the good news came with a dose of caution: “While there are reasons to believe that the months ahead will present challenges for non-residential construction — including tighter credit conditions, weak state and local government finances and elevated commercial vacancy rates — the August data provided a much-needed respite from gloom and doom,” said Anirban Basu, chief economist at ABC in a statement.

The triple shot of positivity comes in stark contrast to a series of economic reports this summer, which showed starts, jobs, backlog and profitability in the non-residential construction sector all tumbling due to projects being put on hold or canceled due to economic uncertainty caused by the pandemic.

It also provides evidence that construction’s essential status helped the industry maintain momentum during the darkest days of government-ordered shut downs, which has enabled it to bounce back faster than other industries, according to Basu and Joe Natarelli, national construction industry group leader at Marcum. Construction’s 8.9% unemployment rate comes in lower than the national average of 10.2%.

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