Dive Brief:

• The latest numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau show half of the sectors in nonresidential construction were up from January to February and half were down, with the result a net increase of 0.6%.
• The change from February 2013 was 6.1%.
• Anirban Basu, the chief economist at Associated Builders and Contractors, said the numbers for February go along with December and January numbers that make it hard to parse out real economic indicators for the industry from slowdowns induced by lousy winter weather.

Dive Insight:

Basu says reports of labor shortages are becoming more common around the nation. That likely will push up wages, so contractors are less likely to see increased margins even if the expected spring rebound happens. And whether that will happen with nicer weather circles back to the basic question of economy-versus-weather.