May Construction Spending Up 0.8%

Outlays for U.S. construction projects rose 0.8% in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.04 trillion, the U.S. Commerce Department reported Wednesday. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected growth of 0.5%, compared with an originally reported increase of 2.2% in April. On Wednesday the government revised April's result to 2.1%. Looking at private outlays in May, spending rose 0.3% for residential projects, and 1.5% for nonresidential projects. For overall public construction projects, spending rose 0.7%.