Total spending on construction ticked up moderately in April, rising to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,006.1 billion the U.S. Census Bureau announced today.  The number is a 2.2 percent increase over the revised (from $966.6 billion) March estimate of $984.0 billion and 4.8 percent higher than a spending rate of $960.4 billion in April 2014.

Total residential spending was at a rate of $359.4 billion, compared to $357.2 billion in March, a 0.6 percent gain but was down 1.8 percent from the $365.8 billion pace a year earlier.

On a non-seasonally adjusted basis total spending in April was estimated at $80.9 billion, $29.6 billion of which was for residential construction.  Year-to-date spending through the end of April was $288.7 billion total and $105.0 billion for residential construction, gains of 4.1 and 0.6 percent respectively.

Private sector construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $725.2 billion, up 1.8 percent from March and 5.3 percent from April 2014.  Private sector construction in March, originally estimated at a rate of $702.4 billion, was revised upward to $725.2 billion.

Residential construction increased 0.6 percent month-over-month but was down 2.1 percent year-over-year to $353.1 billion.  Single family construction was up 1.6 percent from March and 9.2 percent from a year earlier while multi-family spending, at a rate of $51.4 billion, gained 3.1 percent and 24.6 percent respectively.

On a non-seasonally adjusted basis private sector construction spending was estimated at $59.3 billion and year to date at $214.4 billion, a 4.5 percent increase from the same point in 2014.  Non-seasonally adjusted residential spending was $29.1 billion for the month and $103.2 billion for the year-to-date an increase of 0.3 percent.

Public sector spending was at a rate of $280.9 billion in April, a 3.3 percent increase from March and 3.5 percent from a year earlier.  Residential spending, usually negligible in the public sector was up 3.3 percent in April to 6.3 billion and 26.6 percent higher year-over-year.  On a non-seasonally adjusted basis the year-to-date number, $1.83 billion, was 21.2 percent above spending during the same period last year.