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April 2026 ISM®Manufacturing PMI® Report

William Attardi on May 4, 2026

The report was issued today by Susan Spence, MBA, Chair of the Institute for Supply Management® (ISM®) Manufacturing Business Survey Committee. Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in April for the fourth consecutive month, say the nation’s supply executives in the latest ISM® Manufacturing PMI® Report. “The Manufacturing PMI® registered 52.7% in April, the same reading as March. The overall economy continued in expansion for the 18th month in a row. (A Manufacturing PMI® above 47.5%, over a period of time, generally indicates an expansion of the overall economy.) The Employment Index registered 46.4%, down 2.3 percentage points from March’s figure of 48.7%,” says Spence.  April

Construction Jobs Increase in 38 States Year-Over-Year

William Attardi on April 10, 2026

Construction employment rose in 38 states from January 2025 to January 2026, while 40 states and the District of Columbia added jobs between December and January, according to an analysis of new federal data released by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials called on policymakers in Washington to provide adequate support for training to enable workers to acquire in-demand skills and to allow qualified workers into the U.S when needed workers are not available. View January 2026 state employment data and 1-month, 12-month rankings.  Association officials noted that the industry has a critical need for electricians and other workers with the skills to construct data centers and power projects. They urged the federal government to direct more funding to career and technical education and workforce training and to offer a pathway to employ needed workers from other countries.   Construction Jobs Increase in 38 States Year-Over-Year – tEDmag

ADP: Private Sector Employment, Pay Increased in March

William Attardi on April 3, 2026

Private sector employment increased by 62,000 jobs in March and pay was up 4.5 percent year-over-year according to the March ADP National Employment Report® produced by ADP Research in collaboration with the Stanford Digital Economy Lab (“Stanford Lab”). For additional information about the ADP National Employment Report, including historical files, employment and pay data, methodology, and a calendar of release dates, please visit https://adpemploymentreport.com/.  ADP: Private Sector Employment, Pay Increased in March

ABC: Construction Employment Rebounds by 26,000 in March

William Attardi on April 3, 2026

The construction industry added 26,000 jobs in March, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data released today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. On a year-over-year basis, industry employment has grown by 57,000 jobs, an increase of 0.7%. Nonresidential construction employment increased by 12,200 positions, with gains in all three subcategories. Nonresidential building added the most jobs, increasing by 4,500 positions. Nonresidential specialty trade and heavy and civil engineering added 3,900 and 3,800 jobs, respectively, in March. The construction unemployment rate was 6.7% in March. Unemployment across all industries dropped to 4.3%, but is still 0.1 percentage points higher than one year ago.  ABC: Construction Employment Rebounds by 26,000 in March – tEDmag

Walmart CEO Issues Wake-Up Call on AI

William Attardi on September 30, 2025

Walmart executives aren’t sugar coating the message: Artificial intelligence will wipe out some jobs and reshape the company’s workforce.  For now, Walmart executives say the transformation means the size of its global workforce will stay roughly flat even as its revenue climbs. It plans to maintain its headcount of around 2.1million global workers over the next three years, but the mix of those jobs will change significantly, said Donna Morris, Walmart’s chief people officer. What the composition will look like remains murky.  Though there is plenty of anxiety among workers and leaders, many executives say the U.S. labor market remains healthy and they don’t anticipate widespread unemployment because of AI.  89qCx6UzCDStQHAyWTf5-WSJNewsPaper-9-29-2025.pdf

ABC: Construction Adds 15K Jobs in June

William Attardi on July 8, 2025

The construction industry added 15,000 jobs on net in June, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. On a year-over-year basis, industry employment has increased by 121,000 jobs, or 1.5%. The construction unemployment rate fell to 3.4% last month. Unemployment across all industries declined from 4.2% in May to 4.1% in June.  June’s employment report, coupled with recent inflation data, indicate that the U.S. economy continues to demonstrate solid momentum, stable unemployment and declining inflation. Construction added jobs for a second consecutive month.  ABC: Construction Adds 15K Jobs in June – tEDmag

That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind – The last time human beings headed moonward was on the Apollo 17 flight that launched Dec. 7, 1972—before any of the Artemis II crew members were born. Today’s crew will not land on the moon—they won’t even orbit the moon. But they will whip around the lunar far side, on a shakedown mission test-flying the Orion spacecraft. This is essential preparatory work for achieving NASA’s bigger lunar goals. Next year there will be another test flight in low Earth orbit during the flight of Artemis III, followed by up to two moon landings by Artemis IV and V in 2028, and annual landings thereafter. Unlike the Apollo program, Artemis aims not just for the so-called flags-and-footprints model of short, one- to three-day stays on the moon, but for a long-term presence at a long-term moon base in the south lunar pole, where deposits of ice can provide drinkable water, breathable oxygen, and oxygen-hydrogen rocket fuel. Very much like the Apollo program, Artemis finds itself in a closely watched moon race, not with the old Soviet Union this time, but with China, which has announced its intention to have astronauts on the moon by 2030. The U.S. is not going it alone this time, however. While Apollo was an entirely American enterprise, Artemis flies under the flag of 60 countries, signatories to the Artemis Accords, an international pact whose members vow to support the peaceful exploration of space and contribute money, modules, and astronauts to the Artemis cause. Artemis II Has Launched. Here’s Everything You Need to Know