WASHINGTON - US spending on construction slowed in August, with declines in both the private and public sectors, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.
Workers leave a construction site on September 5, 2014 in Bethesda, Maryland
Total construction spending fell 0.8 percent from July to an annual rate of $961.0 billion, but year-over-year was up 5.0 percent.
The July figure was revised sharply lower to $968.8 billion from the prior estimate of $981.0 billion.
The August drop in construction spending was unexpected by economists; the estimate was for a modest 0.4 percent increase.
Spending on private construction, which accounts for more than two-thirds of the sector, fell 0.8 percent, led by a 1.4 percent drop in spending on nonresidential construction.
Public construction spending, which had surged in July, fell 0.9 percent. Construction related to education was a main factor, falling 2.9 percent.
For the first eight months of the year, construction spending was up 6.8 percent compared to the same period of 2013.
"This is a volatile series but the 12-month trend is still headed in the right direction… higher," said Jennifer Lee, an economist at BMO Capital Markets.