U.S. construction spending experienced the largest decline in three months, raising unexpected concerns among market watchers in the industry, the U.S. Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce announced Friday.
According to the Bureau’s report, construction spending was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1 point 14 trillion dollars for February 2016, down 0 point 5 percent from January. Spending in January rose 2 point 1 percent to a revised estimate of 1 point 15 trillion dollars.
Nonfarm payrolls added 215 thousand jobs in March, according to the March 2016 Employment Summary from the BLS released on Friday. The labor force participation also inched upward to 63 point 0 percent. While those numbers are positive, the March employment summary did contain a few disappointments. The average workweek held steady at 34 point 4 hours per week, and average hourly earnings—viewed by many analysts as a key to increasing homeownership—grew by only 2 point 3 percent in March.