Architectural Billings Slow, But Still Strong in the West

The American Institute of Architects released it's October Architectural Billings Index (ABI).  It's at 51.6, down from 54.3 in September (a value >50 indicates and increase in billings).  The ABI is considered a leading indicator for construction activities. The good news for those of us in the west is that 

The above figure is courtesy of Bill McBride at the Calculated Risk Blog.

Some other details:

• The new projects inquiry index in October was 61.5, up from 58.6 in September (a spot of good news).
• Regional averages showed the strongest activity remains in the West (more good news for us) at 55.9, but that's down from 60.6 in September.  The South was up a fraction at 54.4 (from 54.1 in September) as was the Midwest (51.6, up from 51.0). The northeast fell to 49.7 ( from 50.7).
• In terms of specific sectors, multi-family lead the way at 57.0 (up from 55.6), followed by commercial/industrial at 53.7 (down from 57.9), mixed practice at 53.2 (down from 55.4), and institutional at 50.2 (down slightly from 50.4).

The industry sectors tend to ebb and flow from one-another, so that's not really news. With hiring season among us, it's best that CM students keep an eye on these figures. They may provide clues as to how the job market will evolve and who will be hiring the most/least.