Construction Spending Slips in April; Input Prices Are Flat Overall but Rise for Metals; 32 States Add Jobs

June 03, 2025

Construction spending (not adjusted for inflation) fell for the third month in a row in April to $2.15 trillion at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, down 0.4% from March and 0.5% year-over-year (y/y), the Census Bureau reported today. The y/y decrease was the first since 2019. Private residential construction fell 0.9% for the month and 4.8% y/y, with single-family homebuilding down 1.1% for the month, multifamily construction down 0.1%, and owner-occupied improvements down 0.8%. Private nonresidential construction spending fell 0.5% for the month and rose just 1.0% y/y. The largest private nonresidential segments all declined for the month: manufacturing construction, -0.6%; power construction, -0.7%; commercial, -1.0% (comprising warehouse, -1.6%; retail and farm, -0.5% each); and “office” construction -0.2% (comprising data centers, 0.2%, and other, -0.4%). Public construction spending rose 0.4% for the month and 5.5% y/y. The top three public segments were mixed for the month: highway and street, up 0.5%; educational, down 0.1%; and transportation, up 0.7%.

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