Builders shrug off wet February
THE UK’S rapid construction growth continued despite February’s terrible weather, with firms reporting only a minor slowdown in the recent rapid expansion.
The headline score of the most recent purchasing managers’ index (PMI) from Markit and the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply (CIPS) was 62.6 for the construction sector. The figure is down from 64.6 in January but still far above the neutral 50 mark, suggesting that growth is robust. Howard Archer of IHS Global Insight said: “In fact, this is still a very strong survey even if activity had not been affected at all by the wet weather and flooding.”
Though Markit and the CIPS noted that poor weather and flooding were mentioned as factors by firms responding to the survey, civil engineering activity was the strongest on record in February, expanding at the fastest pace since the surveys began over 15 years ago. Expectations for the months ahead are still very strong, especially in comparison to last year’s. Only a tenth of construction companies now forecast that output will decline over the year ahead, in comparison to 59 per cent projecting an increase.
“Even with that disruption, building output still grew very strongly. With the housing market booming and business investment rising strongly – a large chunk which goes on buildings – construction growth should pick-up as the rain gives way to sun again,” said Berenberg’s Robert Wood. The workforce in the construction and property sector is also expanding at the fastest rate since 2009, with the number of available new jobs nearly doubling in the past year, according to a recruitment website.
Reed’s job index, released today, shows that the number of positions being offered has risen 81 per cent in the past 12 months, and the number of positions advertised has tripled in the last four years.