August construction spending up 1.4% (by Ruth Mantell)
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Outlays for U.S. construction projects rose 1.4% in August on public and private spending gains, the Commerce Department reported Monday. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected overall construction spending to decline 0.3% in August after falling a downwardly revised 1.4% in July. Outlays in August increased 0.9% from the prior year. Spending on public construction rose 3.1% in August, with educational construction up 4.3%. Meanwhile, spending on private construction rose 0.4% in August, with residential construction spending up 0.7%, and non-residential spending up 0.2%. The monthly construction data are highly volatile.