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Tag: construction output

Government survey suggests construction firms in England are doing much better, are they?

Government survey suggests construction firms in England are doing much better, are they?

The latest quarterly English Business Survey produced by the business department BIS adds further weight to the notion that the construction market is improving. The survey uses a weighed balance and showed 30% more construction firms saying workload picked up than saying workload shrank between the first and second quarters of this year. Given that about a third saw workload stand still that is an impressive majority. Other highlights include a 26% positive balance expecting to see workloads increase next…

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The official construction figures add to the growing case for cautious optimism

The official construction figures add to the growing case for cautious optimism

The latest construction output figures provide yet more reasons to suspect that the industry may be pulling itself out of its slough. This evidence is reinforced by the release of the newly-constituted new orders figures. The construction output data for July show the index of construction activity has risen to its highest level since last October. This measure, which is seasonally adjusted and deflated to account for price changes, stood in July at 95.5 against 100 in 2010. This may…

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Comparing the pattern of changes in construction jobs by region

Comparing the pattern of changes in construction jobs by region

The latest jobs figures provide yet more evidence that the collapse in construction may be slowing down. The number of construction workforce jobs on the ONS seasonally adjusted figures rose slightly and was roughly the same as in the same period a year ago. These workforce jobs figures broadly support the picture painted by the employment figures released a month ago. The workforce jobs data do however provide us with a view of what is happening at a regional level….

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Construction jobs figures provide reasons for hope and signals for action on training

Construction jobs figures provide reasons for hope and signals for action on training

It’s only one quarter’s figures and we should be cautious of statistical quirks, oddities such as last year’s Jubilympics and weather effects, but there is more promise in the latest construction jobs figures than might have been expected. Certainly the generally improved mood will mean that firms are more willing to hold onto quality people than they might have been. And there is a hint of this in the figures which show a small drop in the numbers, but an…

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A good quarter in a bad half for construction

A good quarter in a bad half for construction

Construction output rose 1.4% in the second quarter of this year compared with the first, according to the latest ONS data. You might think: “Whoopee here we go!” But we’d have hoped for, if not expected, some bounce back after the first quarter of the year came in at its lowest level for a single quarter for more than a decade. If we compare the first half of this year with the final half of last the numbers suggest the…

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Not much more sun, but fewer black clouds in latest construction industry forecasts

Not much more sun, but fewer black clouds in latest construction industry forecasts

The recent welter of more upbeat economic data has left the numbers in the latest construction industry forecasts pretty much unmoved, with the exception of private housing. The broad view is still that this year will see output fall, between 1.5% and 3.8%, with recovery taking place sometime between the end of this year and sometime next year, depending on which forecast you look at. Excluding private housing, there have been tweaks here and there as the forecasters have adjusted…

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Reading the runes of the RICS construction survey and finding optimism elsewhere

Reading the runes of the RICS construction survey and finding optimism elsewhere

Today I read headlines suggesting the recovery in construction is on its way. Ultimately it is, but when? The cause of the excitement was the RICS construction market survey, which comes hard on the heels of lots of seemingly more favourable data. The RICS survey is a useful tool and potentially a good early indicator of the fortunes of the wider construction industry. But the data need to be interpreted with caution. So while many of the indicators in the…

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Signs of stability in construction activity, but recovery looks a way off yet

Signs of stability in construction activity, but recovery looks a way off yet

The latest monthly construction output figures from the Office for National Statistics provided little extra insight into either the travails of or the prospects for the industry, other than to hint that the rate of decline may be easing. Looking at the graph we can see a teasing turn in the downward trend in the 12-month total of construction output of late. And certainly there appear to be no shocks in the data when examining the finer details at sector level….

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It’s worrying that we are losing construction jobs. But equally disturbing is the loss of capacity

It’s worrying that we are losing construction jobs. But equally disturbing is the loss of capacity

The latest ONS labour market figures showing workforce jobs in construction pretty much mirror expectations with a drop of 53,000 from the 2012 Q1 to 2013 Q1. This is pretty much in line with the employment figures published last month which showed a fall of 41,000 over the same period. Interestingly the brunt of the more recent losses appears to have been taken by the self-employed, which had been significantly less impacted through most of the recessionary period since 2008….

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Latest new orders figures provide little to be cheery about

Latest new orders figures provide little to be cheery about

The latest construction new orders figures from the Office for National Statistics provide little comfort for an industry seemingly trapped in a long running slump. Look through the volatility and we see a new stability, so things don’t appear to be getting much worse. But the level of new orders won is running at about two thirds of peak. What makes this disturbing is that it the volume of orders being won has been about the same level for the…

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