The U.S. Census Bureau reported Wednesday morning that construction spending in April dipped by 1.8% to an estimated seasonally adjusted annual rate of about $1.134 trillion from the upwardly revised estimate of nearly $1.14 trillion in March. Compared with April 2015, total spending is up 4.5%.
For the first four months of 2016, new construction spending rose 8.7% to an estimated total of $334.8 billion, compared with the 2015 total of $307.9 billion.
The consensus estimate by economists surveyed by Bloomberg News called for a rise of 0.6% in construction spending for April.
For the month of April private residential construction slipped 1.5% month over month to $439.7 billion. Private nonresidential construction also fell 1.5% month over month, and total private construction spending on a seasonally adjusted annual basis fell 1.5% to $843.15 billion, compared with a revised March total of $855.91 billion.
In the private sector, single family residential construction was 8% higher than it was a year ago and multifamily construction was up 21.4% from April 2015. Private, nonresidential construction was up 3.4% year over year.
In the public sector, seasonally adjusted total spending fell 2.8% compared with March and was 1.2% higher compared with March 2015. Spending on educational facilities decreased by 2.5% month over month, and it is up 4.5% from April 2015 spending. Public residential construction fell 2.8% month over month and remains down 7.4% compared with April 2015.
Private-company spending on new housing remains up 12% year over year and private sector spending on nonresidential construction is up 1.4% year over year. Total public and private construction spending is up 4.5% compared with April 2015.
Are You Still Paying With a Debit Card?
The average American spends $17,274 on debit cards a year, and it’s a HUGE mistake. First, debit cards don’t have the same fraud protections as credit cards. Once your money is gone, it’s gone. But more importantly you can actually get something back from this spending every time you swipe.
Issuers are handing out wild bonuses right now. With some you can earn up to 5% back on every purchase. That’s like getting a 5% discount on everything you buy!
Our top pick is kind of hard to imagine. Not only does it pay up to 5% back, it also includes a $200 cash back reward in the first six months, a 0% intro APR, and…. $0 annual fee. It’s quite literally free money for any one that uses a card regularly. Click here to learn more!
Flywheel Publishing has partnered with CardRatings to provide coverage of credit card products. Flywheel Publishing and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers.
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.
Latest from 24/7
Our expert who first called NVIDIA in 2009 is predicting 2025 will see a historic AI breakthrough.
You can follow him investing $500,000 of his own money on our top AI stocks for free.