by Calculated Risk on 10/03/2022 10:19:00 AM

From the Census Bureau reported that overall construction spending increased:

Construction spending during August 2022 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,781.3 billion, 0.7 percent below the revised July estimate of $1,793.5 billion. The August figure is 8.5 percent above the August 2021 estimate of $1,641.6 billion.
emphasis added

Both private spending and public spending decreased:

Spending on private construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,426.0 billion, 0.6 percent below the revised July estimate of $1,435.2 billion. ...

In August, the estimated seasonally adjusted annual rate of public construction spending was $355.3 billion, 0.8 percent below the revised July estimate of $358.3 billion.

Click on graph for larger image.

This graph shows private residential and nonresidential construction spending, and public spending, since 1993. Note: nominal dollars, not inflation adjusted.

Residential (red) spending is 35% above the bubble peak (in nominal terms - not adjusted for inflation).

Non-residential (blue) spending is 24% above the bubble era peak in January 2008 (nominal dollars).

Public construction spending is 9% above the peak in March 2009.

The second graph shows the year-over-year change in construction spending.

On a year-over-year basis, private residential construction spending is up 12.5%. Non-residential spending is up 5.5% year-over-year. Public spending is up 3.3% year-over-year.

This was below consensus expectations of a 0.3% decrease in spending; however, construction spending for the previous two months combined were revised up sharply.