Reaction to ONS construction industry output figures for April

The Vinden Partnership says that increase in construction output is ‘a welcome boost’.

The Office of National Statistics has released its figures for April revealing that that construction output increased by 2.5% in April – the biggest monthly rise since January 2014. The previous month’s figures saw a fall of 3.6%.

New orders were up by 2.9% in April but down 1.2% in Q1 of 2016 compared to Q1 and Q4 last year.

There was also an increase of 1.9% in April in the repair and maintenance sector.

As mentioned in the previous month’s release, the increase in output may be due to the seasonal adjustment with Easter landing fully in March for the first time since records started in 2010.

There was a boost for the housebuilding sector with private new housing rising by 2.7% for the month.

In comparison with the same period in 2015, construction industry output fell by 3.7%. In the previous month, the figure was at 4.5%.

Peter Vinden, Managing Director of The Vinden Partnership – a leading multi-disciplinary consultant company to the built environment – said: “The news is a welcome boost to the industry, which has been plagued by doubt surrounding the EU referendum.

“After disappointing figures this year, it is good to see an improvement in growth for the private housebuilding sector.

“We should remember, however, that construction output is still 3.7% smaller than this time last year and while April’s figures in insolation are a step in the right direction, the uncertainty surrounding the EU referendum is still casting a shadow across the industry.”

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