WASHINGTON–Housing continues to be robust, with construction spending surging in January to the highest level since 2007.
According to the Commerce Department, construction spending increased 1.5% to $1.14 trillion, the highest level since October 2007, as both private and public outlays increased. Those numbers followed an upwardly revised 0.6% increase in December.
The Commerce Department data shows that in January, construction spending was buoyed by an 0.5% rise in private residential construction projects to the highest level since November 2007.
Outlays on private nonresidential structures, which include factories and offices, rose 1.0%. Spending on private residential construction was unchanged in January.
Public construction outlays jumped 4.5% to their highest level since September 2010. Spending on state and local government construction projects, the largest portion of the public sector segment, shot up 4.4%. Federal government construction spending was up 5.8%.