Construction industry output increased in October

The construction industry saw a slight increase in output by 0.2% in October, according to the latest figures from the Office of National Statistics.

The ONS figures show that new work increased by 1.2%, with private commercial work rising by 4.1% and private new housing up 2.3%.

Public new housing, private industrial, other new public work and infrastructure all saw decreases.

In comparison with October 2014, output in the construction industry increased by one per cent. New work rose by 4.2%, with repair and maintenance decreasing by 4.2%.

The ONS revealed that the third quarter of 2015 saw an increase in of 0.8% in comparison to the second quarter of April to June. There was however, little difference in figures in comparison to Q3 last year.

Dr Noble Francis, Economics Director of the Construction Products Association (CPA), commented:  “After the slowdown in construction activity in Q3, it was good to see an acceleration in activity for the construction industry on both a monthly and an annual basis.”

Commenting on the increase in private housing, Dr Francis commented: “Policies announced by the chancellor in his recent Autumn Statement, such as London Help to Buy, should ensure further growth in private housing output by incentivising major house builders to increase building rates over the next 12 months.

“However, there are mounting concerns regarding affordability in the housing market, especially in London where average house prices are already 9.6 times average earnings.”

Dr Francis expressed his concern over the decrease seen in public housing. He said: “The falls in public housing are a major concern, despite the chancellor’s announcement of ‘400,000 new affordable homes’ in November’s Autumn Statement. Public housing output in October was 3% lower than September and 25.9% lower than a year ago.”

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