WASHINGTON — Construction spending fell 0.6% to a seasonally adjusted estimated annual rate of $883.9 billion in June, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.
The rate was down from a revised May estimate of $889.4 billion, originally reported as $874.9 billion. The 0.6% loss contrasts with the median 0.4% increase projected by economists polled by Thomson Reuters.
The June figure was 3.3% above the $855.8 billion estimate for the same month one year ago.
During the first six months of the year, construction spending was $408.5 billion, 5.1% above the $388.8 billion reported for the same period in 2012.
Spending on private construction fell to $622.8 billion from a revised $625.4 billion. Residential construction was $332.1 billion in June, nearly the same as the revised estimate for May. Nonresidential construction fell 0.9% to $290.8 billion.
Public construction spending decreased 1.1% to a $261.1 billion annual rate in June, from a revised $264 billion in May. Education construction fell 0.4% to $59.9 billion from the revised estimate of $60.2 billion for the previous month. Highway construction showed a decrease of 2.8% to $75 billion, from a revised $77.1 billion estimate for May.
