UK construction activity plummeted last month at the second-fastest rate since April 2009 and the sector shed jobs at the quickest pace since late 2010 as Brexit uncertainty weighed, a survey reveals.
All three construction sub-sectors surveyed by the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply recorded drops in output in September. Civil engineering activity dropped last month at its fastest pace in nearly a decade. Commercial property construction was the worst-performing sub-sector in terms of the rate of decline of its activity, which accelerated last month to the sharpest pace since April 2009. And there was a fourth straight monthly decline in residential building activity.
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CIPS’s business activity index for the UK construction sector dropped from 45 in August to 43.3 last month on a seasonally adjusted basis, falling further below the level of 50 deemed to separate expansion from contraction to signal a significantly sharper decline.
Joe Hayes, economist at CIPS survey compiler IHS Markit, said: “The UK construction sector remained mired in a downturn at the end of the third quarter..
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“Activity is being pulled down at its second-fastest clip for over a decade as firms are buffeted by client hesitancy, heightened Brexit uncertainty and a weak outlook for the UK economy. The commercial sector was a notable casualty in September, with building activity here falling at the fastest rate since April 2009, highlighting the damaging effects of project delays and belt-tightening.”
UK manufacturing activity continued to slide in September amid Brexit concerns, a CIPS survey showed on Tuesday, fuelling fears that the sector may be sliding into recession, with companies cutting staffing at the fastest pace since February 2013.
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