While construction’s latest economic data showed higher backlog and starts numbers, the primary driver of that growth has been data center projects. Those projects raged on despite higher input prices.
But planning activity mostly slipped for other builds and hiring among construction firms slowed to start the year too.
From those results, a consensus has emerged: Take away the artificial intelligence buildout, and construction’s economic outlook appears weaker. That’s the view from economists summing up the sector’s prospects with one quarter of 2026 in the rear view.