Construction Spending Rose in August

Washington, DC, Oct. 1, 2010--Construction spending unexpectedly rose 0.4% in August, the Commerce Department reported Friday.

Economists were expecting a decline of about 0.4%.

Spending is down 10% compared with a year earlier.

Spending on public-sector projects fueled the increase. There was downward revision to July spending to a drop of 1.4% from the initial estimate of a 1.0% decline.