An Oct. 3 report by the U.S. Census Bureau shows that nonresidential construction spending, which includes both privately and publicly financed construction, was $553.1 billion in August, up 1.6 percent for the month and 0.1 percent higher than one year ago, according to the Associated Builders and Contractors.

“[This] should be considered a bit of unexpected good news,” said Associated Builders and Contractors Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “Current economic conditions pointed toward a much less rosy prediction of construction spending.”

However, Basu says, “many economists continue to stress the possibility of another recession, which, among other things, would have the impact of further constraining demand for construction services.”