Monthly construction output grew in February 2026, rising by 1.0% on January, according to the latest ONS data.
New work was up by 1.0% on the month, while R&M increased by 0.9%. The biggest monthly changes were in private new housing, up by 4.3%, and public new housing and private industrial new work, both down by 2.9%.
On an annual basis, total construction output fell by 1.0%. New work decreased by 4.8% in the 12 months ending in February 2026 while R&M rose by 4.5%. In comparison to February 2025, the only new work increase was in public non-housing, which includes health and education projects and was up by 1.1%.
The largest year-on-year decrease was in public new housing which saw a 16.0% decline. In R&M, public housing output fell by 2.9% on the year while private housing works saw an increase of 13.1%.
BCIS chief economist, Dr David Crosthwaite said: “Monthly construction output saw growth in February, largely driven by a 4.3% rise in private new housing. Housing R&M activity was also up although the majority of works across the new build and R&M sectors continued to fall both annually and on a quarterly basis.
“The real concern, however, is to what extent the US-Israel conflict with Iran impacted output in March. We’ve already seen from sentiment surveys and anecdotal evidence that client confidence has waned since the start of the war. Given the Bank Rate was held at 3.75% last month and inflation is expected to increase, I suspect next month’s data will show modest output growth at best, with a contraction the more likely outcome.”
Total construction output increased by 1.8% in 2025 compared with 2024.
This came despite a 2.1% decline in output in the fourth quarter of 2025 compared with the previous quarter, driven by a 2.6% fall in new work.
Richard Beresford, Chief Executive of the National Federation of Builders (NFB), said: “The economy is in a stronger place than many presumed; however, growth in construction is proving elusive and where growth has occurred, it remains way below the 2023 baseline it is set against and in areas where public funding has been strong.”
Rico Wojtulewicz, Director of Policy and Market Insight at the NFB, said: “The winter period is when projects are gearing up for delivery, so growth is rarely certain. However, construction insolvency is up, brick deliveries are down and material prices continue to rise. Industry confidence remains low.
“It was very pleasing to see growth in private housing repair and maintenance, and it warrants further investigation into what the drivers were, as it could signal a green economy growth.
“The impact of the war in Iran has not yet been fed into the GDP figures, but industry is already expressing concerns. We would therefore hope that the Government’s proposed procurement and planning reforms are put into law as soon as possible, particularly those to support SMEs, such as the Medium sized site.”
