Home construction rose slightly last month on the strength of single-family homes, but the market was still too weak to propel growth in the battered industry. Construction of new homes and apartments rose 0.3 percent in September from a month earlier to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 610,000, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. August's figure was revised upward to an annual rate of 608,000 from an earlier estimate of 598,000. Construction was driven by a 4.4 percent monthly increase in single-family homes, which are about 80 percent of the market. Construction of condominiums and apartments fell by nearly 10 percent. The number of building permits issued to build new homes. Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in September were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 539,000. This is 5.6% below the revised August rate of 571,000 and is 10.9% below the September 2009 estimate of 605,000. Single-family authorizations in September were at a rate of 405,000; this is 0.5% (±1.3%) above the revised August figure of 403,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 111,000 in September. Housing starts are up 28 percent from their bottom in April 2009, but are down 73 percent from their peak in January 2006. Weak sales mean fewer jobs in the construction industry, which normally helps power economic recoveries. Each new home built creates, on average, the equivalent of three jobs for a year and generates about $90,000 in taxes, according to the builders' trade group. Privately-owned housing starts in September were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 610,000. This is 0.3% above the revised August estimate of 608,000 and is 4.1% above the September 2009 rate of 586,000. Single-family housing starts in September were at a rate of 452,000; this is 4.4% above the revised August figure