WASHINGTON, Feb. 3 (UPI) -- Construction spending for December pushed the year-to-date total to $898.4 billion, 4.8 percent above the total in 2012, the U.S. Census Bureau said Monday.
Spending in December rose marginally, the bureau said.
The bureau lowered the estimate of spending in November from $934.4 billion to $929.9 billion. For December, construction outlays rose to $930.5 billion, up 0.1 percent.
Construction outlays for the month were 5.3 percent above the December 2012 annual rate estimate of $883.6 billion.
Spending on private-sector projects in December were at an annual rate of $663.9 billion on a seasonally adjusted basis, 1 percent above the revised November estimate of $657.1 billion.
In December, a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $352.6 billion was spent on residential projects, 2.6 percent higher than November's revised rate of $343.8 billion. Private spending on commercial projects came to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $313.3 billion in December, 0.7 percent below the revised November estimate of $313.4 billion.
For the year, $627.2 billion was spent on private construction projects, 8.5 percent above 2012, when $577.9 billion was spent.
Residential construction spending for the year reached $330.7 billion, 18 percent higher than the $280.3 billion total for 2012.
For private commercial projects, spending in 2013 reached $296.5 billion, 0.4 percent lower than the 2012 total of $297.7 billion.
The estimated seasonally adjusted annual rate of public construction spending in December was $266.6 billion 2.3 percent below the revised November estimate of $272.8 billion.
Educational construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $58.2 billion, up 7.2 percent below November's revised estimate spending rate, which came to $62.7 billion. Highway construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $84 billion, 1.8 percent above November's revised estimate of $82.5 billion, the department said.
In 2013, the value of public construction spending slipped to $271.2 billion, off 2.8 percent from the $279 billion spent in 2012.
Education spending for the year slid to $62.4 billion, down 8.4 percent from 2012, when $68.2 billion was spent on construction projects for education.
Public spending on highway construction and repair came to $81.1 billion in 2013, 1 percent above the $80.4 billion spent in 2012.
