Dive Brief:

• An increase in spending on the construction of office buildings, hotels and other non-government projects in March was offset by a dip in residential building, the U.S. Department of Commerce reported on Friday.

• Still, although overall March spending was down 0.6% from February, it was up 3.2% for the first quarter, the report said.

• The breakdown: Non-residential construction was up 1% over February spending, while homebuilding fell 1.6%. March marked the third month in a row that residential spending declined.

Dive Insight:

Private construction accounts for 70% of all building. Public construction—backed by federal and state governments—fell by 1.5% in March. Likewise, highway spending dropped by 2.4% between February and March.

Anirban Basu, chief economist for Associated Builders and Contractors, called the report “disappointing.”

"The recovery's momentum has slowed to a crawl,” he said in a release. Still, he said: “There is little reason for despair. Last year also got off to a hobbled start, but the economy still managed to expand 2.4 percent in 2014. This year can still be better, including for nonresidential construction."