ConDig (03-Jan-18).  US construction spending jumped up 0.8% in November to hit a record high as the non-residential and residential sectors clicked higher, according to latest figures from the Commerce Department.

The increase was the fourth monthly gain and brought total construction spending for November to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of $1.26 trillion, up from $1.25 trillion the month prior and $1.22 trillion in the year-ago period.

It comes as spending in the residential homebuilding sector posted a 1% gain from October to $530.8 billion as strength in single-family construction offset a softening in apartment building.

Construction of single-family homes shot up 1.9% in November, which outweighed a 1.3% fall in apartment building.

Total non-residential construction clicked back up by 0.6% in November to $719.2 billion, led by office building, which jumped 4.6%.

Private construction increased 2.6% compared with October to $964.8 billion, while total public construction spending edged up 0.2% to $292.6 billion.

The increase in spending by US builders underlines the solid floor currently under the US economy and follows a report by The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) that showed national factory activity surging to a reading of 59.7 in December, the second-highest reading in six years, from 58.2 in November.

Goldman Sachs recently raised its outlook growth to 2.5% from 2.4% for the U.S. economy this year in a recent research note, with the investment bank also lowered its unemployment forecast to 3.7%.