2017.11.0110:29:00UTC+00U.S. Construction Spending Unexpectedly Rises 0.3% In September

With a jump in spending on public construction more than offsetting a drop in spending on private construction, the Commerce Department released a report on Wednesday showing an unexpected increase in total U.S. construction spending in the month of September.

The Commerce Department said construction spending rose by 0.3 percent to an annual rate of $1.220 trillion in September from the revised August estimate of $1.216 trillion.

Economists had expected construction spending to come in unchanged compared to the $1.218 trillion originally reported for the previous month.

The unexpected increase in total construction spending reflected a spike in spending on public construction, which surged up by 2.6 percent to a rate of $276.8 billion.

Spending on educational construction soared by 5.2 percent to a rate of $71.9 billion, while spending on highway construction climbed by 1.1 percent to a rate of $84.3 billion.

On the other hand, the Commerce Department said spending on private construction fell by 0.4 percent to a rate of $942.7 billion.

While spending on residential construction was nearly unchanged at a rate of $515.4 billion, spending on non-residential construction dropped by 0.8 percent to a rate of $427.3 billion.

With the monthly increase, total construction spending in September was up by 2.0 percent compared to the same month a year ago.