The US Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce announced Friday that construction spending during April 2012 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $820.7 billion, 0.3 percent above the revised March estimate of $818.1 billion. The April figure is also 6.8 percent above the April 2011 estimate of $768.2 billion. During the first four months of this year, construction spending amounted to $238.5 billion, 7.3 percent above the $222.2 billion for the same period in 2011
Spending on private construction was at an annual rate of $549.7 billion, 1.2 percent above the revised March estimate of $543.4 billion. Residential construction was at an annual rate of $256.1 billion in April, and nonresidential construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $293.6 billion in April.
In April, the estimated seasonally adjusted annual rate of public construction spending was $271.0 billion, 1.4 percent below the revised March estimate of $274.7 billion.