Another Outstanding Mega Project Month ConstructConnect announced today that the latest month’s volume of construction starts, excluding residential work, was $50.2 billion (green shaded box, Table 3 below), +8.9% compared with July’s upwardly revised figure of $46.1 billion (originally reported as $45.4 billion). While July featured a wealth of mega project starts (four for more than $1 billion each, totaling $8.7 billion), August’s record was even better (five such projects adding to $18.7 billion). August’s largest groundbreaking was a $10 billion ExxonMobil ethane cracker in Texas.

The accompanying table records the top 10 project starts in the U.S. for August 2019.

Clichés are often true and it is the case that a picture can be worth a thousand words.

Student enrollment in colleges and universities throughout the U.S. continues to grow. Data tells us that no matter what the economy does, young men and women realize the importance of getting a degree. Statistics from the Institute of Education Services point to the fact that even during the Great Recession from 2007-2009, student enrollments maintained a level constant as young men and women entered or re-entered institutions of higher education.

Revision to July Cuts U.S. Jobs Count by -20,000 The latest Employment Situation report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics records an increase in the total number of U.S. jobs amounting to +130,000 in August. But that’s versus a newly revised July figure that is down by -20,000 compared with what was reported a month ago.

Top Tier of U.S. City Labor Markets In Table 1, the 51 most populous cities in the U.S. are ranked according year-over-year jobs growth (fastest to slowest) and unemployment rates (lowest to highest).