Repair fails to halt further
construction slide
10th July 2018

Private housing repair and maintenance grew by 7.3% in May but was not enough to halt the ongoing decline of UK construction which fell 1.7% quarter-on-quarter, making it the third consecutive period of decline, according to figures published by the ONS today.

The report says: “construction output fell by £683 million in the three-month on three-month time series in May 2018. The most notable contribution to the decline came from private housing new work, which decreased by £394 million in the three months to May 2018. Elsewhere, public other new work also fell sharply, decreasing by £238 million.

“In contrast, the relatively small and volatile private industrial sector continued to provide the most notable positive contribution to growth in the three months to May 2018, increasing by £89 million. The only other notable upward pressure on three-month on three-month output came from non-housing repair and maintenance, which increased by £65 million in May 2018.”