US construction spending inched up 0.1% month-over-month in May 2026, reaching a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $2,210.2 billion. This followed a downwardly revised 0.3% increase in April and came in slightly below market expectations for a 0.2% gain.
Residential construction outlays rose 0.4%, while nonresidential spending was essentially unchanged. Within the nonresidential segment, declines in manufacturing (-1.4%), power (-0.2%), and commercial projects (-0.3%) offset gains in office (0.2%), educational (0.3%), and highway and street construction (0.6%).
For the first five months of 2026, total construction expenditures reached $858.4 billion, a 2.7% increase compared with the same period a year earlier.
