Construction spending in the U.S. unexpectedly decreased in the month of May, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Friday.
The report said construction spending slid 0.8 percent to an annual rate of $1.143 trillion in May from the revised April estimate of $1.152 trillion.
The drop in construction spending came as a surprise to economists, who had expected spending to climb by 0.6 percent.
The unexpected decrease in construction spending partly reflected a sharp decline in spending on public construction, which tumbled by 2.3 percent to a rate of $284.0 billion.
Spending on state and local construction fell by 3.0 percent to a rate of $260.6 billion, while spending on federal construction jumped by 7.5 percent to a rate of $23.3 billion. Education construction tumbled by 5.4 percent.
The report also said spending on private construction edged down by 0.3 percent to an annual rate of $859.3 billion in May.
While spending on non-residential construction slid by 0.7 percent to a rate of $407.4 billion, spending on residential construction was nearly unchanged at $451.9 billion.
Despite the monthly decrease, the Commerce Department noted total construction spending in May was up by 2.8 percent compared to the same month a year ago.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Economic News
What parts of the world are seeing the best (and worst) economic performances lately? Click here to check out our Econ Scorecard and find out! See up-to-the-moment rankings for the best and worst performers in GDP, unemployment rate, inflation and much more.
April 17, 2026 15:29 ET The ongoing conflict in the Middle East continues to raise concerns for policymakers who worry about the impact of the supply shock and high energy prices on the real economy. Producer price data and various survey results on the housing market were the main news from the U.S. this week. In Europe, industrial production data for the euro area gained attention. GDP figures out of China and the policy move by the Singapore central bank were in focus in Asia.