Construction spending nationwide dropped by 5.9 percent in January compared to the same time last year, the Associated General Contractors of America said in a recent report.

Compared to the previous month, construction spending declined 0.7 percent to $792 billion in January from $798 billion in December. This is the second-lowest seasonally adjusted annual rate since July 2000, according to the industry group.

"These discouraging figures show that millions of construction workers and their firms are still suffering from the economic downturn, despite a year and a half of growth in the overall economy," said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. "Other than an uptick in the construction of truck terminals and railroad facilities, private sector demand for construction remains extremely low."

Private nonresidential construction dipped 6.9 percent from December and 13.2 percent from January 2010 levels, according to a statement. However, figures for public construction were more positive, up 0.1 percent for the month and 2.9 percent for the year, largely in part to ongoing federal spending for stimulus, military base realignment projects and hurricane prevention and recovery work around New Orleans.

Simonson predicts that much of this temporary work would dry up later this year and as a result, public construction spending is likely to decline in 2012, if not sooner.

Private residential construction didn’t perform any better in January. While single-family construction spending rose 0.8 percent for the month, it was down 4.8 percent year-over-year. Multifamily construction dropped 2.9 percent from December and 20.1 percent from a year ago.