In the construction report, the 1.5 percent increase for March came after a modest 0.4 percent rise in February, according to revised figures. That was better than the 0.1 percent dip previously reported for February. January's figure also was revised to show a 0.4 percent drop in spending, not as deep as the 0.8 percent decline previously estimated.
The 1.5 percent increase in construction spending in March marked the largest monthly gain since a 1.6 percent advance posted in July 2003.