Construction activity in October was healthy across the board. Other sectors within construction have been up and down but housing continues its sustained uptrend. Construction spending jumped 1.4 percent in October, following a gain of 0.5 percent the month before. The consensus called for a 0.4 percent gain.

The rise in October was led by private residential spending which advanced 3.0 percent after rising 1.1 percent the prior month. For the latest month, new 1-family outlays jumped 3.6 percent, new multi-family construction jumped 6.2 percent, and residential excluding new homes (largely improvements) gained 1.8 percent.

On a year-ago basis, overall construction was up 9.6 percent in October, compared to 8.9 percent the prior month.