Construction Spending Fell in December

Washington, DC, Feb. 2, 2009--Construction spending fell for a third straight month in December, closing out a year in which building activity fell by a record amount as housing continued to plunge.

The Commerce Department said total construction spending dropped by 1.4 percent in December, slightly worse than the 1.2 percent decline economists expected.

For the year, total construction spending fell by a record 5.1 percent, surpassing the 2.1 percent decline in 2007.

The weakness in both years reflected huge declines in home construction, which fell 27.2 percent last year, the largest drop on records going back to 1993.