Construction spending during December 2022 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.809 trillion, 0.4% below the revised November estimate of $1.817 billion, according to data released Feb. 1 by the U.S. Census Bureau.

The December number was 7.7% above the December 2021 estimate of $1.68 trillion, according to the data. The value of construction in 2022 was nearly $1.793 billion, 10.2% above the $1.626 trillion spent in 2021, the bureau said.

Spending on private construction in December was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.427 trillion, 0.4% below the revised November estimate. Residential construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $857.2 billion in December, 0.3% below the revised November estimate. Nonresidential construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $570 billion in December, 0.5% below the revised November estimate, according to the data.

“Nonresidential construction spending fell in December, ending a streak of six straight monthly increases,” said Anirban Basu, Chief Economist for Associated Builders and Contractors. “Despite the decline, nonresidential spending is up 13.8% year over year, an increase outpacing both overall inflation (6.4%) and materials prices inflation (+7.6%). More than half of the increase in nonresidential construction over the past year is due to heightened activity in two segments: manufacturing, as megaprojects begin across the nation, and commercial, a category that includes warehouse- and distribution-related construction.”

The Census Bureau said the estimated December seasonally adjusted annual rate of public construction spending was $382.7 billion, 0.4% below the revised November. Educational construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $84.2 billion, 0.3% below the revised November estimate of $84.4 billion. Highway construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $117.3 billion, 1.1% above the revised November estimate of $116.0 billion, the bureau said.

The U.S. construction industry also had 413,000 job openings in December, according to an ABC analysis of data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. JOLTS defines a job opening as “any unfilled position for which an employer is actively recruiting.”

Industry job openings increased by 82,000 for the month and are up by 54,000 from December 2021, ABC said.