Construction output data shows mixed picture
30 August 2022
Monthly construction output decreased 1.4 per cent in volume terms in June 2022, according to estimates published by the Office for National Statistics about construction output and Construction Output Price Indices for the second quarter.
Analysing the figures, the Construction Leadership Council says that the decrease follows an upwardly revised 1.8 per cent increase in May, with both months affected by the timing of the Jubilee bank holiday. This is the first decrease since October 2021 following seven consecutive months of growth.
The decrease in June came from falls in both new work (2.0 per cent) and repair and maintenance (0.2 per cent).
At the sector level, the main contributors to the decrease in June were private new housing and private commercial new work, which reduced by 6.1 per cent and 4.5 per cent respectively.
The level of construction output in June was 2.9 per cent (£414 million) above the February 2020 pre-coronavirus pandemic level; repair and maintenance work was 12.6 per cent (£626 million) above the February 2020 level, while new work was 2.2 per cent (£212 million) below its February 2020 level.
Despite the monthly decrease, construction output increased 2.3 per cent in Q2, with increases seen in both new work and repair and maintenance (3.3 per cent and 0.8 per cent respectively).
Total construction new orders decreased by 10.4 per cent (£1,355 million) in Q2 compared with Q1. This is the largest quarterly fall in this area since Q4 2020 (11.7 per cent).
The ONS says the annual rate of construction output price growth was 9.6 per cent in the 12 months to June 2022. This was the strongest annual rate of price growth since records began in 2014.
