Last week's economic news included readings on construction spending, along with public and private-sector jobs growth. The national unemployment rate, weekly reports on mortgage rates and new jobless claims were also released. Construction Spending Rises in July July construction spending ticked up to 0.10 percent from June's negative reading of -0.80 percent. Year-over-year, construction spending was 5.80 percent higher than for July 2017.Public-sector construction accounted for most of the growth and increased by 0.70 percent as private-sector construction projects decreased by -0.10 percent. Month-to-month spending readings can be volatile, but analysts said that construction spending for the first seven months…