Construction Spending Down—But Not in Residential

Overall construction spending is on a downturn, dropping by about $8 billion in July, according to a report released by the U.S. Census Bureau. But there's a silver lining for the housing industry: residential construction is up.

Friday's Monthly Construction Spending report—which covers the month of July 2017—shows overall construction spending down 0.6 percent from June. Spending dropped from $1,219.2 billion to $1,211.5 billion over the month.

Broken down by construction type, public construction dipped the most, declining 1.4 percent since June and 5.6 percent since last year. Educational construction decreased 4.4 percent, dropping from $69.2 billion to $66.2 billion.

Private construction came in 0.4 percent lower for the month, dropping from $949.4 billion to $945.5 billion. Nonresidential private construction declined 1.9 percent, from $436.2 billion to $428 billion.

According to the report, overall construction spending is up for the year."During the first seven months of this year, construction spending amounted to $691.2 billion, 4.7 percent above the $659.9 billion for the same period in 2016," the report stated.

Private residential construction was also up for July—jumping 0.8 percent from $513.2 billion to $517.5 billion—and for the year, rising 11.2 percent since July 2016. Single-family construction rose the most, increasing 10.4 percent over the year, while multi-family construction jumped just 2.6 percent. Both figures have increased by 0.8 percent in July.

The Bureau will release its next construction spending report—which will cover August 2017's figures—on October 2. To see today's full report, visit Census.gov.