National Statistics – SpecNews

Forecasted construction sector growth falls short

He also pointed out that the November data on the construction sector from Britain’s purchasing managers was also softer.
DISMAL official data yesterday revealed weaker than expected growth in the construction sector that followed on a sharp slide in output in the third quarter of the year.
Output in the sector – accounting for about 7 per cent of British GDP – edged up just 0.2 per cent in October, significantly undershooting City forecasts.
The ONS said infrastructure had risen to almost £4 billion (28 per cent) of total construction industry output over the year to September 2015.
The Office for National Statistics also said that Q3 construction output was now estimated to have slumped by 1.9 per cent, heavily influenced by a 5.6 per cent fall in housebuilding.

Builders remain confident despite drop in output

Output from the UK construction sector fell unexpectedly for a third consecutive month in September, according to official figures released yesterday, though industry bosses remain upbeat.
On an annual measure, output dropped 1.6 per cent in September, the biggest decline for more than two years.
The data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that construction output dipped 0.2 per cent in September, after a sharp 3.4 per cent decline in August and against expectations for a modest rise.
For the third quarter as a whole, new housing construction slumped 4.3 per cent, its biggest decline in just over three years, reflecting a drop in housing starts in the previous quarter around the time of May’s national election.
On Thursday, the Bank of England’s chief economist Andy Haldane described the UK’s housing market as “broken”, highlighting the long-term lack of construction of new homes particularly by local councils.

‘Amber warning light’ on economy (From Herald Scotland)

SCOTTISH Chambers of Commerce has declared that its latest economic survey, which shows much weaker manufacturing growth and declining confidence among services firms, is an “amber warning light” for the UK and Scottish Governments.
The survey shows the first fall in optimism in the Scottish financial and business services sector for a year.
Scottish Chambers’ survey, conducted by Strathclyde University’s Fraser of Allander Institute, flags a sharp slowdown in investment growth in the manufacturing sector north of the Border.
The survey signals that year-on-year growth in sales revenue in the Scottish tourism sector accelerated between the second and third quarters.
And it signals a fall in capital investment in the financial and business services sector.

Sharp decline in construction drags GDP growth

But while steady growth in the UK as a whole is still expected, the prospects are less optimistic for Northern Ireland.
A STEEP decline in construction output dragged down growth in the UK’s economy in the last quarter with the slow down worse than anticipated at 0.5 per cent.
Analysts had forecast that growth would slow slightly from 0.7 per cent in the second quarter to 0.6 per cent in the three months to September.
Manufacturing continued to struggle as it fell by a more moderate 0.3 per cent, while mining and quarrying increased 2.4 per cent.
Meanwhile, chief executive of the Federation of Master Builders Brian Berry said the figures “will shake away any complacency that the recovery in the construction industry can be taken for granted”.

Construction sector returns to modest growth

THE construction sector returned to modest growth in June after a slowdown over the previous two months, official figures show.
Construction output in June was 2.6 per cent higher year-on-year, below economists’ forecasts of a 3.3 per cent rise but still the fastest growth since March.
The ONS added that the second quarter construction figure is higher than the flat output estimate it used to calculate gross domestic product (GDP) for the quarter last month.
But it added this small upward revision to construction did not point to any material revision to the ONS preliminary estimate of 0.7 per cent GDP growth in the second quarter of this year.
The ONS said: “Despite this increase the data for June 2015 continues a run of relatively weak monthly growth.”