UK construction grows but stays below crisis levels

UK construction activity rose in August but was still more than 10% less than before the Covid-19 crisis, official figures showed

Output on building sites rose 3% from July after a record fall of 41% in April as the economy shut down, the Office for National Statistics said. The fourth month of growth was driven by private housing which rose 12.8% and makes up almost a fifth of the sector.

Output remained 10.8% lower than in February before the full effects of Covid-19 hit the industry. Infrastructure is the only part of the industry to get back to its February level, helped by larger sites that are more suited to social distancing. Private industrial and commercial building and public new housing construction are significantly down on their pre-crisis levels.

Gareth Belsham, director of surveyors and consultants Naismiths, said: “Overall the August data is a serious misfire. Even the most cautious predictions expected more from the month than this, and the recovery is starting to look less v-shaped and more r-shaped. The boom seen at the start of 2020 might as well be years, not just months, ago."

Covid-19 hit the construction sector just as it was starting to recover from an extended period of uncertainty following the Conservatives' resounding election victory and the end to the political logjam over Brexit. The industry now faces the prospect of further restrictions and a worsening economic climate as coronavirus infections rise steeply.