The economic recovery gained strength on the biggest rise in construction spending in nearly a decade and the 10th straight month of expansion for the manufacturing sector.
Temporary government incentives fueled most of the construction spending increases in April. Industry spending rose 2.7 percent with gains in all major sectors, the Commerce Department said in early June.
Also in early June, the Institute for Supply Management, a trade group of purchasing executives, said its manufacturing index dipped slightly in May from a nearly six-year high in April. But the 59.7 reading for May was well above the 50 level that indicates expansion.
Spending on private construction totaled $565.8 billion, according to the U.S. Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce. Residential construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $263 billion, while nonresidential construction totaled $302.7 billion.
Spending on public construction was $303.3 billion, and educational construction spending totaled $74.7 billion. Highway construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $84.3 billion.
The April numbers are 10.5 percent below the April 2009 estimate of $971.4 billion.
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