With a decrease in spending on private construction offsetting a jump in spending on public construction, the Commerce Department released a report on Thursday showing U.S. construction spending was roughly unchanged in the month of January.
Construction spending in January was estimated at an annual rate of $1.263 trillion, nearly the same as the revised December estimate. Economists had expected construction spending to rise by 0.3 percent.
The report said spending on private construction fell by 0.5 percent to an annual rate of $962.7 billion in January from $967.9 billion in December.
The decrease came as spending on non-residential construction plunged by 1.5 percent to $439.6 billion, more than offsetting a 0.3 percent increase in spending on residential construction to $523.2 billion.
On the other hand, the Commerce Department said spending on public construction jumped by 1.8 percent to an annual rate of $300.1 billion in January from $294.8 billion in December.
Spending on educational construction surged up by 2.1 percent to $76.7 billion, while spending on highway construction spiked by 4.4 percent to $92.6 billion.
Compared to the same month a year ago, the Commerce Department said total construction spending was up by 3.2 percent.
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