September Construction Spending Down 0.4%

Outlays for U.S. construction projects fell 0.4% in September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $950.9 billion, the U.S. Commerce Department reported Monday. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected a 0.7% increase. Looking at private outlays in September, spending fell 0.6% for nonresidential projects, but rose 0.4% for residential projects. For overall public construction projects, spending dropped 1.3%.