UK Construction Output Up In April

The UK’s construction output climbed at its fastest rate so far in 2017 in April, with the index produced by Markit and the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS) hitting 53.1 from 52.5 in March.

Although the index is still well below the 64.6 peak recorded in January 2014, the climb between March and April is the fastest expansion this year.

The index reveals that there’s been an upturn in the amount of work UK construction companies have secured, which has had a positive knock-on effect for employment in the sector.

According to the Markit/CIPS data, construction employment growth was the strongest it’s been since May 2016 in April this year. In addition, many in the industry are optimistic about what the rest of the year will bring, with 49 per cent of respondents anticipating a rise in construction output during the rest of 2017.

Director of customer relationships at CIPS Duncan Brock commented that there are a number of positives to take from April’s data, particularly for the housebuilding sector.

“The housing sector offered up the best news recovering from last month’s minor blip and building on its strongest performance since the end of last year,” he said.

Senior economist at IHS Markit and author of the index Tim Moore added that a strong upturn in civil engineering activity also helped boost the index during April.

Last month, trade union Unite said that the government should be doing more to support the construction sector and called on ministers to commit more investment to construction infrastructure projects in the coming years.

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