The U.S. Census Bureau has announced that construction spending during February was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $808.9 billion, 1.1% below the revised January estimate of $818.1 billion. The February figure is 5.8% above the February 2011 estimate of $764.2 billion.
During the first two months of this year, construction spending amounted to $111.3 billion, which is 7.4% above the $103.7 billion for the same period in 2011.
Spending on private construction in February was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $527.3 billion, 0.8% below the revised January estimate of $531.7 billion. Residential construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $246.5 billion, nearly the same as the revised January estimate of $246.4 billion. Nonresidential construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $280.8 billion in February, 1.6% below the revised January estimate of $285.3 billion.
In February, the estimated seasonally adjusted annual rate of public construction spending was $281.6 billion, 1.7% below the revised January estimate of $286.4 billion. Educational construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $69.4 billion, 2.5% below the revised January estimate of $71.2 billion.