Government boom hits record levels

USA Today reports:

Construction spending by federal, state and local governments has reached record levels, lifting the economy and employing some blue-collar workers despite a collapse in home building.

The building of new homes and apartments fell in July to its lowest level since 1991, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday. A boom in government projects has picked up some of the slack.

Governments are on track to spend a record $300 billion this year on schools, roads, bridges and other projects, the Census Bureau reports. That's a 7% increase on top of a 12.4% jump last year, the biggest increase since 1993, when the agency began tracking construction spending.

In a dramatic reversal, government projects now generate more spending than construction of homes and apartments. By contrast, in 2005, residential construction generated a record $481 billion — more than twice what governments spent.

Government really is a growth industry.