| FEB. 2012 | JAN. 2012 | CHANGE | FEB. 2011 | CHANGE | |
| Housing starts* | 698,000 | 706,000 | down 1.1% | 518,000 | up 34.7% |
| Housing completions* | 568,000 | 535,000 | up 6.2% | 611,000 | down 7% |
| Building permits* | 717,000 | 682,000 | up 5.1% | 534,000 | up 34.3% |
| Total spending* | $808.9 billion | $818.1 billion | down 1.1% | $764.2 billion | up 5.8% |
| Unemployment rate | 17.10% | 17.70% | down 0.6 pts | 21.80% | down 4.7 points |
| Architecture Billings Index | 51 | 50.9 | up 0.1 | 50.6 | up 0.4 |
*annualized rate
Sources: US Census Bureau, Associated General Contractors of America, American Institute of Architects