Dive summary:

• Construction spending, measured month by month as an annual pace, stood at $852 billion in September, and that was a three-year high.
• U.S. government figures showed once again that residential was leading improvements and offsetting ongoing declines in public construction, Associated General Contractors reported after analyzing the numbers.
• Total construction was up 7.8% from September 2011, and private residential spending rose 21% in that period, AGC said.

From the release:

Construction spending in September climbed to a nearly three-year high at an annualized rate of $852 billion, as increased spending on houses, apartments and private nonresidential projects outweighed a continuing downturn in public construction, according to an analysis of new federal data released today by the Associated General Contractors of America. ...