by AF 0601 d3 — June 5, 2009—U.S. construction spending unexpectedly rose in April as the housing slump eased and more commercial projects got underway. The 0.8 percent gain was the biggest since August 2008 and followed a revised 0.4 percent increase the prior month, the Commerce Department said in Washington.
Residential construction rose 0.6 percent and work on power plants and factories propelled commercial construction up.
Federal and local government spending will ramp up as funding from the $787 billion fiscal stimulus package filters through to worksites, notes the Commerce Department. Borrowing rates near historic lows and improving business and consumer confidence may help stem the worst housing slump since the Great Depression.
Public construction decreased 0.6 percent, restrained by declines in the building of schools, water-supply and sewage- treatment plants. Such projects may increase in coming months as funds from the government’s infrastructure stimulus spending filter through to worksites.
For more information, see the press release from the Commerce Department.
