Reports of the death of the construction sector’s recovery “have been greatly exaggerated” after the UK’s builders began the year in a faster gear, industry watchers have said.
Builders dragged down the wider economy in the final three months of 2014 with a 1.8% slide in output, according to the first official growth estimates.
But the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply’s latest snapshot, where a score over 50 signals growth, rose to 59.1 last month from 57.6 in December, pointing to a “robust and accelerated expansion of overall business activity”.
The pace of growth is below levels seen in 2013 and early last year — when the Chancellor’s Help to Buy policy triggered a housebuilding boom — but still above the long-term average.
Tim Moore, senior economist at survey compiler Markit, said: “The peak speed of the construction recovery seems to be over, but reports of its death have been greatly exaggerated.”
The pace of hiring among construction firms fell to a 13-month low despite rising new orders and reports of skills shortages.
Cips chief executive David Noble said: “Uncertainty about the continued recovery of the wider economy and the possible changes brought on by a looming general election may keep the sector from performing at the high levels seen this time last year.”
