August Construction Spending Falls 0.8%

Outlays for U.S. construction projects fell 0.8% in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $961.0 billion, the U.S. Commerce Department reported Wednesday. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected a 0.5% increase. Looking at private outlays, spending fell 1.4% for nonresidential projects and dropped 0.1% for residential projects. For overall public construction projects, spending fell 0.9%. In addition, July's rise was revised lower to a 1.2% rise from an initially reported 1.8% gain.