US construction spending likely showed modest gain in January

The Commerce Department reports on U.S. construction spending in January. The report will be issued Monday at 10 a.m. Eastern.

CONSTRUCTION UP: The expectation is that construction spending rose 0.3 percent in January, according to a survey of economists by data firm FactSet.

FURTHER GAINS: In December, construction spending posted a 0.4 percent gain as building activity increased for new homes and government-backed highways.

For all of 2014, total construction spending increased 5.6 percent to $961 billion. That was just slightly lower than the 5.7 increase in 2013.

Over the course of 2014, spending on offices, power plants, factories and hotels and motels climbed significantly, a potential sign of broader economic growth in 2015.

The solid gains helped boost job growth in the construction industry, which added nearly 3 million jobs in 2014, the most since 1999.