Construction spending slips 0.6 percent in August

Construction spending dipped 0.6 percent in August from July, but was 6.5 percent higher than the same month in 2011, the Census Bureau reported Monday.

Beneath the headline number, private residential construction spending rose 0.9 percent in August, buoyed by a 2.8 percent increase in single-family homes. Spending on multifamily homes rose 3.7 percent.

IHS Global Insight housing economist Patrick Newport said residential construction likely grew at double-digit rates in the third quarter, contributing between 0.2 percent and 0.3 percent to real GDP growth.