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09.03.2026 14:43
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In the category of useless stuff you never thought about.
For 12 years I wrote about astronomy. This little nugget caught a lot of people off guard.
To see the flag planted on the Moon from Earth would take a telescope with a lens diameter twice the size of a football field. Not happening.
An increase in gasoline/diesel results in an increase on every single item used in construction. If it's not delivery charges, it's heavy onsite machinery operation to install. It could also be in fuel needed to manufacture products.
I read earlier that this plaque was installed in a location that is not open to the public.
Immigrants in the Construction Workforce
edzarenski.com/2025/06/09/i...
Immigrants may comprise between 14% and 22% of the total construction workforce. It is not clear how many within that total may or may not be included in the U.S. Census BLS jobs report. However, the totals are significant enough that they would alter some of the results commonly reported.
Unemployment and productivity includes only jobs counted in the official U.S. Census Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) jobs report. There is a large, unaccounted for shadow workforce in construction. By some accounts, 40% or more of the construction workforce in California and Texas are immigrants.
BAD WEEK for the regime, GREAT WEEK for us.
Resistance rising! 👊 Don't miss it:
A federal judge in DC rules that Kari Lake was not lawfully appointed and that actions she took as the claimed head of USAGM "shall have no force or effect," including last August's RIFs at the Voice of America.
Right. Lower productivity isn't workers slacking off. It's greater requirements to meet quality and safety demand, compliance with code, respond to complex systems, etc.
I leave my butter out. Covered.
Construction Analytics Outlook 2026
When constant$ spending declines more than jobs, that indicates a decline in productivity. Safe to say construction productivity is at its lowest point in over 30yrs. By the looks of the following plot, probably the lowest ever.
edzarenski.com/2026/03/05/c...
Local gas stations raised price of regular 45c in last few days.
January posted the largest construction jobs increase (+48,000) in 4 years. There has been no increase in volume to support jobs growth since 2024.
In 2022, 2023 and 2024, jobs increased in 35 out of 36 months. Construction volume fell in 14 out of those 36 months, but average volume increased all three year. We added 680,000. Annual average volume increased 8%
In 2025 and Jan-Feb 2026, construction jobs declined in 9 out of 14 months. Volume has fallen in 10 out those 14 months. Jobs are down 0.6% since Dec 2024. Volume fell 5.1% in 2025 and is forecast to fall 2.3% in 2026. Currently there is no volume to support jobs growth.
Well any adds in Data Centers I would think would be more than offset by deducts in Manufacturing which is greater and residential which is twice the scale. Overall, volume of work went down, yet jobs went up.
YTD through Feb. 2026, construction jobs are up 50,000 over Jan-Feb 2025.
That's kind of a hard to believe number, since construction Constant$ spending, or real construction volume, is down 1.5% or $2.5bil over the same two month period. That would has us suspect a loss of 10,000 jobs.
Current$ spending construction in 2026 is expected to increase slightly. Constant$ spending after inflation is projected to fall about 2.5%, indicating a drop of 200,000 jobs. Don't expect a decline of 200,000 jobs, but I don't expect even slow jobs growth like we see in 2025.
Constant$ spending in 2025 would indicate a decline of 400,000 jobs, but jobs seldom fall at the same rate as spending. But, when spending declines more than jobs, that indicates a decline in productivity.
Construction jobs from Dec24 to Dec25 fell by 4,000. But the better comparison of the Avg'25 vs the Avg'24 increased by 58,000.
Spending was indicating a decline in jobs. Current $ spending in 2025 declined -1.4% or $30bil. After inflation, or Constant$ spending, declined 5.2%.
Data Center construction spending is forecast to increase $10bil/year at least the next 3 years.
Manufacturing spending was largest Nonres decline in 2025, down $15bil. Will be double that in 2026. See article on my blog "The Manufacturing Taper".
Mnfg is 4x to 5x the size of data center spending.
FT comments section this morning - saying what everyone else is thinking, right?
a bigger problem than anticipated”
Posting Data about construction spending and forecasting is seeming so trivial with all that is going on these days.
Today's markets pretty much wipe out all my gains this year.😕
Tariffs score an economic own-goal. #econsky
Thank you!
