U.S. construction spending in April totaled $969 billion, which was up 0.8 percent from March, reported Ken Simonson, chief economist for the Associated General Contractors of America, in his Data DIGest for last week. However, that total was down 11 percent compared with April 2008.

Manufacturing construction recorded the biggest month-to-month gain, with the April number rising 3.9 percent from March. Simonson attributed the increase to a number of oil-refinery upgrades.

Private construction that depends on bank financing has generally fallen off, Simonson wrote, with retail, warehouse and farm construction falling by 2.1 percent from March and lodging falling 2.4 percent.