Construction Spending Overall Better Than Expected

Washington, DC, July 1,2008--Spending on U.S. construction projects fell a less than expected 0.4 percent in May as private residential construction continued to decline, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday.

Economists were looking for a decline of 0.6 percent.

The one bright spot in the report is that public construction rose 0.4 percent.

On a year-over-year basis, construction spending was down 6%. Spending on private residential construction declined 1.6 percent in May, following a decline of 1.7 percent in the prior month.

Spending in May on overall private construction declined 0.7 percent.