Construction spending hits high

Monday, Dec. 1, 2003 | 9:27 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Construction spending in October registered its best month on record and the nation's manufacturers saw a big leap in activity in November, a pair of encouraging signs that the economic recovery has staying power.

The Commerce Department reported today that the total value of building projects under way came in at a seasonally adjusted $922 billion in October, representing a 0.9 percent increase from the previous month.

The $922 billion level was an all-time monthly high, and the change was even better than the 0.6 percent rise that analysts were forecasting.

In a second report, manufacturing activity grew in November for the fifth month in a row. The Institute for Supply Management reported that its manufacturing index rose to 62.8 last month, a large increase from the reading of 57 registered in October and better than economists had expected.

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