Construction Spending Falls In August

(RTTNews) - A government report issued Monday showed that construction spending in the U.S. declined in August, led by a slide in spending by governments.

The U.S. Department of Commerce said that construction spending fell by 0.7 percent in August compared to the previous month's level. Economists had expected the measure to rise 0.3 percent for the month.

The report showed that private construction spending slipped 0.3 percent. Meanwhile, public construction, meaning that done by governments, retreated by 2.0 percent.

In percentage terms, the biggest drop in overall construction spending took place in the transportation industry. That sector saw a decline of 6.3% There were also declines of more than 2.5 percent on religious projects, on power projects, on public safety and on highway and street construction.