WASHINGTON -- Construction spending rose 1.2% to a seasonally adjusted estimated annual rate of $885.1 billion in February, the Commerce Department reported Monday.
The rate increased from a revised January estimate of $874.8 billion, originally reported as $883.3 billion. The acceleration in the annual rate exceeded the median 1% increase projected by economists polled by Thomson Reuters.
The February mark was 7.9% above the $820.7 billion estimate for the same month one year ago. Through the first two months of the year, construction spending stood at $120.1 billion, 6.6% above the $112.6 billion spent through the first two months of 2012.
Public construction spending increased 0.9% to a $272.1 billion annual rate, from the revised January figure of $269.6 billion. The monthly increase was public construction spending's sharpest gain since a 1.4% gain reported in August 2012.
State and local construction spending climbed 1.1% to $248.1 billion, while Federal construction spending dropped 1.1% to a $24 billion annual rate. Highway construction spending increased 3.4%.
Spending on private construction jumped 1.3% to a seasonally adjusted estimated rate of $613 billion in February, from $605.2 billion the previous month. Private residential construction shot up 2.2% to its highest level since November 2008, while nonresidential construction rose 0.4% from January.
