The Office for
National Statistics (ONS) has released the data on construction output for
October 2019.
Official figures
show that construction output has decreased slightly by -0.3% in the last three
months to October.
Compared to
September, output has fallen by 2.3% - the largest fall since January 2018 (a
2.6% fall which was due to bad weather).
There was a fall in
the total number of new housing starts (-2% against 2.1% in September),
particularly in private housing (-5% compared to 1% previously) and all new
work dropped by -1.2% compared to 3.5%. Repair and maintenance work also
decreased, but not as significantly (-3.8% in October, -5.1% in
September).
The figures are
worth noting as they record the lowest monthly output in the sector since 2018.
This could be due to the uncertainty of Brexit slowing the progress of
developments and new projects.
The CIOB says it
will be interesting to compare these figures to those over the next few months,
following the formation of a new government and with the UK set to leave the EU
on 31 January 2020.
Caroline Gumble,
Chief Executive at the CIOB, commented: “It’s interesting to look at these
figures and note that there is something of a slowdown, although that’s not a
huge surprise given the current political environment.
"As the CIOB
has said in our manifesto, we need to see a pipeline of well-planned projects
and support for sector jobs across the UK. These should be among the priorities
for the next government for this important sector.”
The largest fall in
monthly construction growth for almost two years demonstrates the urgent
need for the next government to invest in construction skills to support UK
builders, says the Federation of Master Builders.
Brian Berry, Chief
Executive of the FMB, said: “The new government must hit the ground running and
invest to upskill builders if we’re to meet the construction needs of the next
decade, including responding to the climate emergency.
"(This) 2.3%
fall in construction growth shows the ongoing damaging chilling effect of
political and economic uncertainty on builders’ workload.”
