Growth in UK construction sector slows amid housebuilding decline

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Survey respondents reported that the pipeline of new work remains decent, although uncertainty around the autumn Budget weighed on demand in October Matt Swannell, EY Item Club The latest figure shows there was still significant growth last month, although this was below the 55.1 reading predicted by economists. Tim Moore, economics director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said: “The construction sector signalled another month of solid output growth in October, despite being unable to match the highs seen in September. “Commercial construction activity also increased again, albeit at the slowest pace since the current phase of expansion began in April.” The data showed that civil engineering was once again a key driver for growth across the sector, supported by new energy infrastructure projects, with a reading of 56.2. “Indeed, survey respondents reported that the pipeline of new work remains decent, although uncertainty around the autumn Budget weighed on demand in October.”