Job growth in the U.S. manufacturing sector has slowed, while construction spending hardly increased in May.

According to the Commerce Department, construction spending rose by 0.1 percent, but it is down compared to the 0.8 percent increase during April. Analysts had originally projected May's spending increase to be 0.5 percent, while economists polled by MarketWatch had forecast a growth of 0.7 percent. In total, construction spending hit $958.1 billion in May. In comparison to the same time in 2013, construction spending has increased by 6.6 percent.

Private construction dominated in May with a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $682.8 billion. Public construction in May earned a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $273.3 billion. The construction industry has reportedly struggled following the winter weather season, which delayed building projects for much of the U.S. During the January to March quarter, the regression in construction contributed to the U.S. economy's decline to an annual rate of 2.9 percent, which represented the biggest drop since the first quarter of 2009.

The construction industry is an important sector for Hispanics. Pew Research Center's Hispanic Trends Project revealed nearly half of the Hispanic workforce are categorized in four industries: eating, drinking and lodging services; wholesale and retail trade; professional and other business services; and construction.

According to The Center for Construction Research and Training, the population of Hispanics in the construction industry tripled in the last 10 years. The number of Hispanics in construction, however, may be underestimated, leaving some undocumented and immigrant workers uncounted.

The recession hit Hispanics hard in recent years. Within the construction sector, Hispanics lost 686,000 jobs during the recession. Following the recession, 74,000 jobs were recovered. According to the National Council of La Raza, nearly one in four construction workers are Latino, or 24.4 percent compared to 15.4 percent of all employed workers. As of August 2013, NCLR noted approximately 2.2 million Latinos work in construction. In comparison to 1980, the Hispanic construction workforce was nearly 342,000.

"Given their overrepresentation in construction, Latinos' economic security depends heavily on the health of the construction industry. Despite signs of revitalization in the housing market, employment trends in construction are still fickle," noted NCLR.

The construction data comes as the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced the sales of new single-family houses increased by 18.6 percent during May, the highest annual level in six years. Within the housing market, Hispanics with have been touted to be a "large and rapidly growing" population in the real estate market.

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