Amid the ongoing recovery, the pandemic continues to set the course for overall economic activity, said Richard Branch, chief economist at Dodge Construction Network, in a quarterly construction starts forecast on Feb. 15.
“The Delta wave weighed on growth and fanned inflation significantly back in the fall, and Omicron certainly took a bite out of activity over the last month-and-a-half to two months,” said Branch. Going forward, however, “we continue to assume that each subsequent wave of COVID infection will be less disruptive to the healthcare system and the economy than the previous one.”