Construction Spending Decreased 0.1% in May

From the Census Bureau reported that overall construction spending increased:

Construction spending during May 2022 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,779.8 billion, 0.1 percent below the revised April estimate of $1,782.5 billion. The May figure is 9.7 percent above the May 2021 estimate of $1,621.9 billion.
emphasis added

Private spending increased and public spending decreased:

Spending on private construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,436.0 billion, virtually unchanged from the revised April estimate of $1,435.9 billion. ...

In May, the estimated seasonally adjusted annual rate of public construction spending was $343.8 billion, 0.8 percent below the revised April estimate of $346.6 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 38% above the bubble peak (in nominal terms - not adjusted for inflation).

Non-residential (blue) spending is 20% above the bubble era peak in January 2008 (nominal dollars).

Public construction spending is 6% 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 19.0%. Non-residential spending is up 3.7% year-over-year. Public spending is down 2.7% year-over-year.

This was below consensus expectations of a 0.4% increase in spending; however, construction spending for the previous three months was revised up sharply.