Welcome to ACEC’s July economic update. Each month, the ACEC team analyzes the latest industry data and provides insights for the engineering and design industry. 

Here are the top 4 things you need to know:

Number 1 —

Total design and construction spending was up nearly 10% this May, compared to the same time last year says the U.S. Census Bureau. The category remains driven by private residential spending up 19%. Private non-residential spending is still up, but not as much as previous months coming in up 3.7%). Public spending is now showing a slight decline down 2.7% year-over-year.

Number 2 —

The hottest market in the private, non-residential sector is manufacturing, which is up 23% from the previous year. On the other side, the coolest market is lodging which declined by 20%, based on data that was not seasonally adjusted from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Number 3 —

The possibility of a recession is still looming and labor shortages, supply chain disruptions, and inflation remain top concerns. According to Building Design+Construction industry leaders are worried that they may no longer be able to pass along price increases to their clients. This could result in project delays or firms taking on more financial risk to win work at lower margins.

Number 4 —

One more data point as we look across the business landscape… For the first time in three years startup funding is dropping. Investments in tech startups are at their lowest  level since 2019, dropping 23% over the last three months. This is according to figures released earlier this month by PitchBook, which tracks young companies.

There you have it. The economic update series is one of ACEC’s resources for media and members.

For a deeper dive, check out all of ACEC’s popular Private Industry Briefs and ACEC’s full slate of private market offerings at ACEC.org.