Jobs and pay data do little to perk up waning hopes for growth

Jobs and pay data do little to perk up waning hopes for growth

The latest jobs and pay data released by the Office for National Statistics today provide little by way of comfort about the economy or, more specifically, for those in the construction industry. There was an improvement in the numbers employed with 50,000 more in employment over the past three months to May and 26,000 fewer were counted as unemployed. But we have seen a continued rise in the claimant count. And annual pay rose at an annual rate of just 2.3%,…

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Half-term report for the housing market 2011 – fragile and flatlining

Half-term report for the housing market 2011 – fragile and flatlining

The two best words to sum up the picture that emerges from the latest housing market data would probably be fragile and flatlining. The surveys may have slight differences, but they all point to a market in a state of uneasy equilibrium. So, with a steady flow of disappointing economic data of late, this leaves wide open the question of whether the market has the resilience to avoid being tipped again into decline. The graph probably shows you all you…

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Construction output: So far it’s better than last year, but can that last?

Construction output: So far it’s better than last year, but can that last?

The construction firms may be suffering and may be shedding jobs, but the bald statistics so far for this year suggest that the industry is faring better than the gloomy news might have some believe. The latest construction output figures show that in pure cash terms the industry pocketed about £1.24 billion more in the first five months of this year than in the same period in 2010. And 2010 proved a pretty good year in the end, with output…

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Building materials imports data suggest construction grew in first quarter of 2011

Building materials imports data suggest construction grew in first quarter of 2011

The value of UK building materials imports rose 3.7% in the first quarter of this year compared with the final quarter of last year, which had seen a fall of almost 10%. This rather suggests that the construction industry had a better start to this year than the official output figures might indicate. Because while rising imports is not good news for the UK balance of trade, it does rather point to more activity on construction sites in the first…

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Forecasters see pain deferred as recessions takes longer to bite in construction

Forecasters see pain deferred as recessions takes longer to bite in construction

The latest construction output forecast from the materials producers body Construction Products Association suggests pain deferred for the industry. The revised view is that this year will be less bad than the forecasters first thought, but next year will be worse and the recovery expected in 2013 will be weaker. The main thinking behind this gentle revision is that the fall off in public spending on construction is happening slower than was previously expected, having interpreted the Government spending plans….

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England’s housing stock grows slower than the population for the first time in decades

England’s housing stock grows slower than the population for the first time in decades

The release today of the latest population estimates for 2010 revealed a reversal in the long-standing trend in England that the housing stock increases proportionately faster than the population. For more than a century the ratio of the number of people in England to the number of dwellings has, give or take a few blips and the effects of the World Wars, shrunk. The trend, from the best data I can find at the moment, was reversed in the decade…

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Mini surge over for plant hire as activity dips in April

Mini surge over for plant hire as activity dips in April

The mini surge in plant hire activity in February and March came to an end with activity dropping by 2.8% in April, according to the latest Index of Services figures. Okay, there was an extra Bank holiday in April with the Royal Wedding that will have dampened activity. But conversely the weather was rather better than normal and may well have helped support activity in construction. Too much should not be drawn from one month’s figures, but the dip in activity in…

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Another step on the long march to improving construction

Another step on the long march to improving construction

For those who still follow the path that leads to greater collaboration within the construction industry, last night’s launch of the Pinsent Masons-Constructing Excellence report Infrastructure in the New Era provided a welcome shot in the arm. This report in many ways leads on from Andrew Wolstenholme’s report, Never Waste a Good Crisis. In his report Wolstenholme promotes the view (crudely stated by me) that you don’t build to build a building or piece of infrastructure, you build for a…

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Construction output figures in the dock: the case for the defence

Construction output figures in the dock: the case for the defence

In my chats with national statisticians about the troublesome output statistics, I sense it was the word “baloney” used by Kier chief Paul Sheffield that irritated more than most other comments on the figures. The word troubled me, probably for different reasons. I take cursing seriously and the use of out-of-vogue slang emanating from the Italian-Irish-American inter-war gangster era for some reason just jarred. Still, the Office for National Statistics decided to hit back at the growing criticism of –…

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Construction jobs slump to lowest level since 2003

Construction jobs slump to lowest level since 2003

Construction lost a further 24,000 jobs in the first quarter of this year with the number of workforce jobs dropping to its lowest level since mid 2003. The labour market statistics provide further evidence of the slump in construction activity. Although it is worth bearing in mind that the more jobs rich repair and maintenance sectors have taken more of a beating than the new work sectors of construction. This would mean proportionately more jobs lost for a given drop in overall…

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