That said, going forward, relatively low unemployment and rising disposable incomes may counter to some extent the factors tending to restrain household spending. Although spending by the household sector is showing signs of moderation, other sectors of the economy retain considerable momentum. According to the available data, business investment appears to have risen briskly, on net, so far this year.
In particular, investment in nonresidential structures, which had been weak since 2001, seems to have picked up appreciably, raising the possibility that increased nonresidential construction may absorb some of the resources released by the slowing housing sector. Spending on equipment and software is also on a strong upward trend, and backlogs of orders for capital goods are still rising.