Primarily reflecting a jump in spending on private construction, the Commerce Department released a report on Wednesday showing a bigger than expected increase in U.S. construction spending in the month of November.
The Commerce Department said construction spending climbed by 0.8 percent to an annual rate of $1.257 trillion in November from a revised $1.247 trillion in October. Economists had expected spending to rise by 0.5 percent.
With the monthly increase, construction spending in November was up by 2.4 percent compared to the same month a year ago.
The bigger than expected monthly increase came as spending on private construction surged up by 1.0 percent to an annual rate of $964.3 billion in November from $955.1 billion in October.
Spending on residential construction jumped by 1.0 percent to a rate of $530.8 billion, while spending on non-residential construction climbed by 0.9 percent to a rate of $433.5 billion.
The report also said spending on public construction edged up by 0.2 percent to an annual rate of $292.7 billion in November from $292.0 billion in October.
While spending on educational construction soared by 3.8 percent to a rate of $78.8 billion, spending on highway construction fell by 0.8 percent to a rate of $88.0 billion.
by RTT Staff Writer
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