Construction spending fell for a third straight month in December, closing out a year in which building activity fell by a record amount as housing continued to plunge. IE 11 is not supported.

Now the “pat on the back”: construction spending for October. The Commerce Department reports it was up 0.6% from September, up more than 10% from a year ago.

While the U.S. economy as a whole added an estimated 12,000 jobs, construction added 8,000 overall, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.