UK construction sector confidence hits an 11-year high
Confidence across the UK construction sector hit an 11-year high in June, while growth continued to rebound, according a widely-watched industry survey released today.
The Markit/CIPS UK Construction Purchasing Managers’ index smashed economists' expectations rising to 58.1 in June, up from 55.9 a month earlier, the fastest increase in four months.
"The extent of the recent rise in construction optimism is partly down to relief that pre-election uncertainty has now passed, but it also suggests that firms are infused with confidence that underlying demand will continue to recover," said Tim Moore, an economist at financial data company Markit.
House-building remained the fastest growing area of construction output, but both the commercial and civil engineering sectors also grew over the month.
New work rebounded for the second successive month to its steepest since October 2014 – helped by rising client confidence and improving business conditions across the UK economy.
It was also the most optimistic survey for business confidence across the UK construction sector since February 2004, with around two-thirds of respondents saying they think output would rise over the next year and just four per cent expecting a decline.
This was supported by employment across the construction sector, which grew at the fastest rate since December.