Arrgh...the government shutdown is preventing me from getting my data!

The Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) was supposed to report on construction spending in August but can't due to the government shutdown (the Census Bureau is closed).  This data point was going to be very interesting seeing as the AGC previously reported that construction employment increased in 194 of 339 metro areas year-over-year (August 2012 to August 2013) and that construction employment increased in 26 states from July to August.  Both of these reports lean towards an ongoing improvement of the construction industry.

In its most recent press release, AGC states that the government shutdown may hamper the construction industry's long climb out of the hole created by the great recession.  According to Stephen Sandherr, the AGC's CEO, "This shutdown poses a real risk of undermining the industry's long-awaited recovery."