July construction spending rises 0.6%, led by housing and hotels

U.S. construction spending in July rose 0.6% from the month before, reaching a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $900.8 billion. That’s the best performance since June 2009, the government said Tuesday.

The Commerce Department reported Tuesday that total year-to-date construction spending through July had amounted to $493.9 billion. That’s 5.6% higher what was spent during the same period last year.

Construction spending was led by the housing and lodging sectors. Both areas have seen improvements as the housing recovery has boosted new residential construction and increased consumer spending has spurred demand for new hotels and motels.

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The value of private residential construction has jumped to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $334.6 billion, a 17.2% rise since July 2012, according to the report.

Meanwhile, construction spending for private lodging grew 6.1% from June to July, reaching a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $14.6 billion. Since July 2012, spending in this sector grew nearly 33%.

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