Hiring in Canada took a pause in October according to the latest Labour Force Survey report from the nation’s chief statistics-gathering agency. Statistics Canada says that total employment in the tenth month of the year stayed almost the same (-2,000 jobs) as in September.

In the latest month, total U.S. put-in-place construction spending, as measured by the Census Bureau, was -2.1% year to date (ytd ‒ i.e., Jan-Sept 2019 versus Jan-Sept 2018). As for the total’s two major sub-components, residential (with a 40% share) was in decline, at -7.9% ytd, while nonresidential (with a 60% share) was modestly ahead, +2.2% ytd.

Revisions to Past Data Paint Better Picture The headline figure on U.S. net jobs creation in October, as recorded in the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)’s Employment Situation report, was a rather tepid +128,000. But as has occurred on several other recent occasions, there were significant revisions to past data that brighten the picture considerably.

The accompanying table records the 10 largest construction project starts in Canada in September 2019. Also included is the latest trend graph on starts. This looks at 12-month moving totals of the civil and non-residential building categories in Canada.

ConstructConnect’s grand total construction starts statistics two-thirds of the way through 2019 are almost even with January-August 2018, -3.3%. The composition of starts this year, however, has undergone a dramatic change. It is much more heavily weighted towards very large projects, the so-called ‘mega projects’ of one billion dollars or more each.

The accompanying tables show the top 10 major upcoming Water Treatment Plant and Manufacturing & Warehousing construction projects in the U.S. They are all in the planning stage and are mainly new projects, but may also involve additions and/or alterations.