7th May 2025 09:56
(Alliance News) - The UK construction sector remained in the doldrums last month, numbers on Wednesday showed, as uncertainty hit decision-making on new projects.
The S&P Global construction purchasing managers' index rose slightly to 46.6 points in April, from 46.4 in March. The PMI remained under the 50 point neutral mark, however, suggesting the construction sector stayed in negative territory.
"Construction activity decreased for the fourth consecutive month as rising business uncertainty led to delayed decision-making on new projects. The latest survey indicated further declines in total order books and cutbacks to staffing numbers," S&P Global said.
S&P Global noted it was the slowest decline in three months, with residential construction showing "resilience". The residential sub-index PMI was at 47.1 in April.
"Civil engineering remained the weakest-performing area of construction activity in April (43.1), with the latest survey indicating a sharp rate of decline amid a lack of new work to replace completed projects. Commercial work (45.5) decreased for the fourth month running in April and the pace of decline accelerated to its fastest since May 2020. Construction companies widely noted that heightened business uncertainty and worries about the broader UK economic outlook had weighed on client demand," S&P Global added.
"April data indicated a steep reduction in total new work and the pace of decline was the second-fastest since May 2020. Survey respondents typically commented on the impact of subdued business and consumer confidence."
Firms are largely optimistic about the next 12 months, with 41% predicting an output improvement, and only 18% predicting a decline.
"This signalled a slight improvement in business optimism to its highest since December 2024. A
number of firms commented on positive expectations for residential building work, despite ongoing domestic economic headwinds and fragile client confidence," S&P Global added.
The PMI features a panel of 150 construction firms, with responses collected between April 9 and 29.
By Eric Cunha, Alliance News news editor
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