US construction spending rises in November

Construction outlays rose percent in November, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Thursday. The bureau said spending was 1 percent higher than the revised estimate of $925.1 billion for October, with spending climbing to an annual rate of $934.4 billion. Construction outlays for the month were 5.9 percent above the November 2012 annual rate estimate of $882.7 billion. Spending for November pushed the year-to-date total to $828.4 billion, 5 percent above $788.8 billion, the January through November total in 2012. Spending on private-sector projects totaled $659.4 billion on a seasonally adjusted basis, 2.2 percent above the revised October estimate of $644.9 billion. In November, a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $345.5 billion was spent on residential projects, a 1.9 percent gain over October's revised rate of $339.2 billion. Private spending on commercial projects came to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $313.9 billion in November, 2.7 percent above the revised October estimate of $305.7 billion. The estimated seasonally adjusted annual rate of public construction spending in November was $275 billion, 1.8 percent below the revised October estimate of $280.2 billion. Educational construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $65.2 billion, up 1.1 percent from October's estimated spending rate, which came to $64.4 billion. Highway construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $82 billion, 0.4 percent below October's estimate of $82.4 billion, the department said.