Construction output down in May

Any way you look at it, construction output fell in May.

Construction output fell by 0.3% in May compared with the same month last year, the first month-on-year decrease in output since May 2013, says the Office for National Statistics.

Output was also down compared with April (-1.2%) and the three monthly rolling quarter figures showed a similar decline of 1.2%.

The rolling quarter decrease shows the largest fall in output since September 2012, driven by falls in both repair & maintenance and new work.

The main downward pressure on growth came from new work, notably from infrastructure (government spending), which fell 4.0% following strong growth in April.

Construction output figures for April have been revised up 0.5 percentage points as late reports have been received from industry. Output still fell compared with March, but instead of the fall being 1.6% it is now put at 1.1%.