November Construction Spending Down 0.3%

Outlays for U.S. construction projects fell 0.3% in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $975 billion, the U.S. Commerce Department reported Friday. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected a 0.2% increase, compared with originally reported growth of 1.1% in October. On Friday, the government revised October's increase to 1.2%. Looking at private outlays in November, spending rose 0.9% for residential projects, but fell 0.3% for nonresidential projects. For overall public construction projects, spending fell 1.7%.