Single-family, public construction lift spending total; wage costs stall but vary by area

Construction spending in June totaled $966 billion at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, 0.3 percent above the revised May estimate but 10 percent  below the June 2008 level, the Census Bureau reported on Monday [Aug. 3]. Private residential spending was up 0.5 percent for the month but down 30 percent from a year earlier, as new single-family construction increased 2.4 percent in June but fell 51 percent year-over-year. New multifamily construction tumbled 7.2 percent and 33 percent. Although Census does not separately show residential improvements (additions and major renovations to existing single- and multifamily buildings), an estimate is included in the total, according to an Aug. 4 AGC of America release.

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