WASHINGTON — U.S. construction spending rose 0.5% in September, boosted by government and private residential projects.
The Commerce Department said Friday that government construction rose 1.5% last month, powered by state and local building.
The September increase comes as the previous August gain of 0.1% was revised down to -0.3%.
Private residential construction increased 0.6%, with single family home construction up 1.3% but apartment building or multi-family home projects falling 0.7%.
Overall construction after adjusting for seasonal variations came in at an annual rate of $1.29 trillion, 2 percent lower than September 2018.
During the first nine months of 2019, U.S. construction spending was $968.7 billion, a drop of 2.2% from the first nine months of 2018.
