April Construction Spending Rises 2.2%

Outlays for U.S. construction projects rose 2.2% in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.01 trillion, the U.S. Commerce Department reported Monday. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected growth of 0.7%, compared with an originally reported decrease of 0.6% in March. On Monday the government revised March's result to an increase of 0.5%. Looking at private outlays in April, spending rose 0.6% for residential projects, and 3.1% for nonresidential projects. For overall public construction projects, spending grew 3.3%.