US construction spending fell 1.9% month-over-month in September 2026 to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $2,186.1 billion. This was the sharpest decline since April 2020 and followed an upwardly revised 2.0% increase in August. The result ran counter to market expectations of a 0.4% gain.
Private construction outlays decreased 2.4%, driven by a 5.5% drop in residential spending. In contrast, spending on private nonresidential structures rose 1.1%. Within the nonresidential category, the largest gains were seen in office (5.5%), power (1.2%), and religious (1.1%) projects, partially offset by declines in amusement and recreation (-1.3%) and educational (-0.6%) construction.
Public construction spending edged down 0.1%. A 0.1% decline in nonresidential public projects was slightly more than offset by a 1.8% increase in the residential component. On a year-over-year basis, total construction spending fell 2.7%.