WASHINGTON, DC, USA — Businesses ordered more computers, communications equipment and other big-ticket items in August, a sign they are pushing ahead with expansion plans despite weak growth.

Orders for capital goods, which are considered a good measure of business investment, rose 0.9 per cent in August, the Commerce Department said yesterday. It was the second gain in three months.

Overall factory orders fell 0.2 per cent, after rising a downwardly revised 2.1 per cent in July. Orders for autos and auto parts fell, dragging down the overall total. But that comes after automotive orders jumped by the most in eight years in July. Automakers are returning to full production after output was interrupted by Japan’s March 11 earthquake.

Economists pay close attention to orders for capital goods, which exclude volatile demand for defence or transportation goods. Businesses typically order more industrial machinery and other capital goods when they are confident in the economy.

Businesses appeared to be sticking with expansion plans at a difficult time. The stock market has fluctuated wildly, Europe’s debt crisis has intensified and a raft of data show the economy may be vulnerable to another recession.

Several reports Monday suggested the economy is growing but not enough to lower the unemployment rate, which is at 9.1 per cent.

Manufacturing expanded at a faster pace in September than August, a private sector survey found. Production, export orders and employment all rose last month, according to the Institute for Supply Management. New US orders shrank for the third straight month, a bad sign for future production.

Construction spending rose 1.4 per cent in August, the Commerce Department said. Much of the gain stemmed from a big jump in state and local government spending on roads, schools and other public projects. With those governments facing big budget gaps, such gains aren’t likely to continue.

Both home building and commercial construction — which includes office buildings, factories and power plants — also rose, but remained at weak levels.

Building activity reached a seasonally adjusted annual rate of US$799.1 billion. That’s 4.8 per cent above an 11-year low hit in March. But it’s barely more than half the US$1.5-trillion pace considered healthy.

Auto sales also rose last month, boosted by unexpected consumer enthusiasm for pickup trucks and SUVs. With the economy weak and gas prices high, analysts didn’t expect sales of bigger vehicles to rise. Many small companies have to replace older vehicles, and some carmakers offered zero-per cent financing and other deals.

Macroeconomic Advisers, an economic consulting firm, expects the economy will expand at an annual pace of 2.5 per cent in the July-September quarter. That’s up from an earlier estimate of 2.1 per cent, and better than the 0.9 per cent expansion in the first half of the year.

The economy needs to grow by at least four per cent to five per cent for a year to significantly reduce unemployment.