Proactive Investors - The UK’s construction sector suffered its steepest decline in output since May 2020, according to figures today.
The latest S&P Global/CIPS construction purchasing managers’ index was 45.0 in September, a steep drop from 50.8 in August, the first contraction since June.
The report showed all three main segments of construction work posted a reduction in business activity, led by a steep and accelerated fall in house building.
Residential work (index at 38.1) was by far the worst-performing area of construction output during September, which aside from the pandemic, was the steepest since April 2009.
Civil engineering activity registered 45.7 while commercial building declined at only a modest pace in September (index at 47.7), a considerable setback after the solid growth seen throughout the summer.
Tim Moore, economics director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said: "Output levels declined across the UK construction sector for the first time in three months during September and the latest downturn marked the worst overall performance since the early stages of the pandemic."
"A rapid decline in house building activity acted as a major drag on workloads, with construction companies widely commenting on cutbacks to new residential development projects in the wake of sluggish demand and rising borrowing costs," he added.