Construction still struggling

The construction industry is still far from recovering, said Anirban Basu, the chief economist for Arlington, Va.-based group Associated Builders and Contractors. Instead, he noted that nonresidential construction has declined 27.1 percent nationally since it peaked in October 2008.

“Construction has led the downturn. No section of the economy was as heavily impacted as construction during recession,” he said during a webinar hosted by his group on Wednesday. Nonresidential construction tends to lag the overall economy by 10 to 24 months, which is why it peaked in 2008, he said. But an uptick has been slow to come because job growth is lackluster, among other economic forces.

In Atlanta, he sees continued softness because of the state's high rate of unemployment and an “extra weak” residential market. The southeast has had higher levels of office vacancy than the rest of the nation, though he sees strength in high tech manufacturing and logistics.