CONSTRUCTION SPENDING AT POST-RECESSION HIGH

Construction spending was really hurt in the Great Recession with workers laid off in droves. Now, however, construction spending has recovered and is at the highest level it has been since May of 2008.*

(Click on figure to enlarge)
Total construction spending climbed 0.7% from the prior month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.083 trillion, the Commerce Department said Tuesday, the highest level since May 2008.
Private building led the way, with both residential and nonresidential construction hitting new postrecession highs. State and local government spending dropped in July, but only after posting solid gains during the previous four months.

“The overall impression from the past few months is that the construction sector overall is the strongest part of the economy, with spending up at a remarkable 26% annualized rate in the three months to July,” Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said in a note to clients.*

If we could put infrastructure spending on top of this, many workers would be lured back into the work force with wages increasing.**

* http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2015/09/01/u-s-construction-spending-hits-new-postrecession-high-2/?mod=djemRTE_h
** http://stopcontinentaldrift.blogspot.com/2015/08/increasing-workers-wages.html