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Construction Spending Rose in August WASHINGTON, DC (Associated Press) -
Construction spending rose unexpectedly in August on the biggest jump in housing activity in nearly 16 years, another sign the housing sector is mounting a recovery.

The Commerce Department says construction spending rose 0.8 percent in August, much better than the 0.2 percent drop that economists had expected. But July activity was revised to show a much steeper decline of 1.1 percent instead of the 0.2 percent drop originally reported.

Still, the August construction gain was encouraging following three straight months of decline. It reflected a 4.7 percent rise in private residential activity, the biggest one-month increase since November 1993. © Copyright 2012, Associated Press