Construction spending increased 0.8 percent in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of $1,035.8 billion. April spending was revised up from $1,006.1 billion to $1,027.0 billion. Construction spending during the first five months of 2015 amounted to $382.1 billion, 5.9 percent higher than in the first 5 months of 2014.
According to the ADP National Employment report, the private sector added 237,000 jobs in June, as both the goods-producing and service-providing sectors experienced increased job growth. The June report upwardly revised the May and April headline numbers by 2,000 and 14,000 respectively.
Employers announced plans to shed 44,842 workers from their payrolls in June, following the 41,034 planned job cuts announced in May, according to a report issued by Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
The 20-City Case-Schiller Composite gained 4.9 percent year-over-year in April, slightly lower than March’s gain of 5 percent. The 10-City Composite gained 4.6 percent in April from the previous year, down from the 4.7 percent year-over-year gain in March.
Consumer sentiment rose to 96.1 in June, up 5.4 points from the previous month according to the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index. The index is currently 15.6 points higher than in June of 2014.
Personal income increased $79 billion, or 0.5 percent, in May according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the same pace as the previous month. Personal consumption expenditures (PCE) increased $105.9 billion, or 0.9 percent, in May after increasing only 0.1 percent in April.
U.S. Real GDP for the first quarter decreased at a rate of 0.2 percent, according to the third estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The second estimate had reported a 0.7 percent decline.
Sales of new single-family houses in May rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 546,000 according to the U.S. Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development. The May rate is 2.2 percent above the revised April rate of 534,000 and is 19.5 percent above the year-ago rate of 457,000.
New orders for manufactured durable goods decreased 1.8 percent to $228.9 billion in May, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. New orders for manufactured durable goods has been down three of the last four months.
Existing home sales increased 5.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted rate of 5.35 million in May according to the National Association of Realtors, up from a revised 5.09 million in April. Existing home sales have increased year over year for the last eight months.