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

Here are the 5 things you need to know:

Number 1: Engineering and design revenues reached $100 billion last quarter, an all-time high, and marked the sixth straight month of growth following the pandemic dip.

Number 2: Total design and construction spending was up more than 8% this January, compared to the same time last year. The category remains driven by private residential spending which is up more than 13 % and private non-residential up more than 7%.

Number 3: Inflation is anticipated to remain higher than previously predicted, according to a new National Association for Business Economics survey. 30% of respondents named monetary policy missteps as the greatest downside risk.

Number 4 :In the same survey, the vast majority respondents suggested a wage spiral is something to keep an eye on. A wage spiral is the economic term for price increases due to higher wages. 77% of respondents think a wage spiral is either already occurring or will be a major risk in 2022.

Number 5: During a report to Congress this month, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said he would propose an interest rate increase of a quarter-percentage-point, which he will suggest at the upcoming Fed meetings. This increase is less than analysts anticipated. Chairman Powell acknowledged difficulties coming out of the pandemic, saying the Fed would avoid “adding uncertainty to what is already an extraordinarily challenging and uncertain moment.”

Those are your top 5 items.

For a deeper dive, check out the full video on YouTube and all of ACEC’s popular Private Industry Briefs.

And mark your calendars for April when the ACEC private markets team will hold a symposium discussing the health care, science and technology markets in Boston, Mass.

To learn more about ACEC’s full slate of private market offerings visit our website at ACEC.org.