The US Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce announced Friday that construction spending during May 2011 fell 0.6 percent to $753.5 billion from $757.9 billion in April. The May figure is also 7.1 percent lower than the May 2010 estimate of $811.2 billion. In the first five months of 2011, total construction spending amounted to $285.1 billion, 6.3 percent below the $304.4 billion for the same period last year.
Both public and private construction edged lower in May. Public construction fell 0.8 percent to $276.3 billion compared to April spending of $278.6 billion. Private construction spending had a more measured decline of 0.4 percent, with spending falling from $479.3 billion in April to $477.2 billion. Residential construction continued to lag in May, and was down 2.1 percent over April spending to $228.9 billion. On the other hand, non-residential construction saw a small uptick in May, rising 1.2 percent over April to $248.3 billion.