Construction Spending Drops in November

Construction spending fell 0.9% in November, an expected decline and the worst in 11 months, the Commerce Department reported. Wall Street economists had forecast a 0.7% increase. The decline, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $609 billion, came after four consecutive increases. October’s increase, previously estimated at a slight 0.1%, was revised to a sharp 1.4% jump. The weakness in November was led by a 3.8% decline in nonresidential commercial construction to a rate of $158.7 billion, the sector’s third drop in four months. Spending on hotels, offices, hospitals and shopping centers all fell. Government construction fell 0.5% to a rate of $140.6 billion after a 3.3% surge in October.