Construction Spending at Lowest Level Since 2002

Washington, DC, April 1, 2010--Construction spending in February was at its lowest level in nearly eight years, according to the Commerce Department.

The government reported Thursday that spending on construction projects around the country fell by 1.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $846.23 billion. That was the lowest level since November 2002.

The weakness was widespread. Spending fell for home building, commercial ventures, including hotels and motels, and big government public works projects, such as highways and streets.

The 1.3 percent drop followed a deeper 1.4 percent decline in January. It was the fourth month in a row that construction spending fell.

Total spending on construction projects is down 12.8 percent from a year ago, underscoring the deep hole builders are struggling to come out of.