U.S. architects report a bit of growth in business in November

The nation’s architects reported a slight improvement in business in November, the first uptick in four months.

Architectural contracts are a leading indicator of construction activity, with a lag time of about nine months to a year between the awarding of the contracts and construction spending.

The American Institute of Architects, the leading trade group for the profession, said that its index of “work on the boards” reported by architects was 52, following a score of 49.4 in October. Any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings.

“Hopefully, this uptick in billings is a sign that a recovery phase is in the works,” said Kermit Baker, the institute’s chief economist. “However, given the volatility that we’ve seen nationally and internationally recently, we’ll need to see several more months of positive readings before we’ll have much confidence that the U.S. construction recession is ending.”

The West lagged behind the rest of the country in November billings with a negative score of 45.6.

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