Amid the economic turmoil caused by COVID-19, overall construction spending reached $1.356 billion in May, seasonally adjusted, according to a report released by the U.S. Dept. of Commerce on July 1.

The figure is 2.1% below April's revised estimate of $1.386 billion but 0.3% higher than the May 2019 estimate of $1.353 billion.

Construction spending for the first five months of the year was $543.2 billion, 5.7% above the same time period in 2019.

In the private sector, spending for May was estimated at $1.001 billion, seasonally adjusted. The figure is 3.3% lower than April's estimate of $1.305 billion. Residential spending was 4% below April's rate, while nonresidential work fell 2.4% in the same time period.

For public work, the seasonally adjusted rate of spending in May was $355.2 billion, 1.2% above April's $350.9 billion.

Education construction rose 0.1%, while highway construction was 2.8% higher than April's figure.