Construction spending rose 0.1 percent in December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $930.5 billion, according to a Feb. 3 Commerce Department report. The private construction spending rate added 1.0 percent, balancing a 2.6 percent increase in residential projects with a 0.7 percent decline in nonresidential builds. Public construction spending fell 2.3 percent in December.

Construction outlays were relatively unchanged in December, as gains in residential building offset a setback among state and local government agencies. The Commerce Department's February 3 report showed outlays rising 0.1 percent after climbing 0.8 percent in November.

The December spending rate was 5.3 percent higher than the $883.6 billion pace in December 2012. Private spending on homebuilding increased 2.6 percent in December to reach the highest level since June 2008, according to the report. For all of 2013, construction spending advanced 4.8 percent to an $898.4 billion rate, the highest since 2009.

Government outlays dropped 2.3 percent from November to December, paced by a 2.7 percent decrease at the state and local level that was the biggest in a year. Federal expenditures slumped 14.2 percent in 2013, the biggest decline in comparable records dating back to 1993.