Construction spending dropped 1.1% in February, the largest decline in seven months, the Commerce Department said.
The decrease followed a revised 0.8% downturn in January that was larger than originally reported, Commerce said.
Economists had forecast a 0.6% gain in February, Bloomberg reported.
Private construction spending was unchanged, while homebuilding spending gained 1.2%.
Spending on public construction projects fell 1.7%, but federal construction spending climbed 1.9%.