Construction spending advanced slightly from November to December, aided by increases in outlays for residential projects.
The Commerce Department [1] said Monday that construction spending [2] rose 0.4 percent month-over-month throughout December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $982.1 billion. November's spending rate was revised slightly upward to a seasonally adjusted $978.6 billion, still reflecting a decline from the month prior.
For the entire year, the Commerce Department estimates spending on construction came to a total of $961.4 billion, an increase of 5.6 percent over 2013.
Residential construction spending in December turned in a mixed performance, rising 0.4 percent over the previous month to a rate of $355.0 billion but falling short of year-ago levels by 3.9 percent.
In the private sector, spending on construction was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $698.6 billion, a 0.1 percent improvement above November's revised estimate. Private residential construction gained 0.3 percent month-to-month to climb to an annualized rate of $348.4 billion.
Spending was up all around for private residential projects, led by a 1.2 percent month-over-month increase in spending on single-family homes to a rate of $202.5 billion. Spending for new multifamily projects picked up 0.3 percent to a rate of $46.6 billion.
In the public sector, residential outlays came to an annualized $5.5 billion in December, up 2.3 percent from November.