Dive Brief:

• An index that measures construction costs in North America, the Engineering and Construction Cost Index, was above its midpoint of 50 last month (indicating rising costs) for the 22nd consecutive month since January 2012.
• The index's creators, IHS Inc. and the Procurement Executives Group (PEG), said it was the labor component of their index that drove the November increase because its materials-and-equipment component has been pretty much static since spring.
• One factor IHS cited for the increase is that shale-gas exploration is soaking up the available labor in its trades, such as pipe fitters and welders, pulling up the national idex.

Dive Insight:

IHS and PEG said there is generally a tight market for skilled workers, and that echoes ongoing reports about many trades. Trades groups like Associated General Contractors have called for more high-school courses to make students familiar with, and hopefully interested in, the construction trades. IHS also said the shift from materials-driven cost increases to labor-driven ones reflects the slowdown in the Chinese economy, which had been sucking up large quantities of construction goods.