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Published: 20/11/2024
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes monthly estimates of the amount of construction output chargeable to customers for building and civil engineering work in Great Britain, split by sector and type of work.
Construction output increased slightly in September
Construction output increased 0.1% in September 2024 compared with the previous month, according to the latest ONS data. The overall increase was due to an increase in repair and maintenance (R&M) work (0.4%) as new work decreased by 0.2%.
On an annual basis, new work output in September 2024 was down 2.7% on September 2023. R&M output was up 2.8% on the same period.
In new work, there were annual decreases in all sectors apart from public other and private industrial.
| Sector | Change in September 2024 compared with | |
| August 2024 | September 2023 | |
| New work | ||
| Public housing | -3.1% | -3.5% |
| Private housing | -0.4% | -2.0% |
| Infrastructure | 1.4% | -7.2% |
| Public other | -3.2% | 8.3% |
| Private industrial | 1.4% | 5.8% |
| Private commercial | -0.1% | -4.2% |
| All new work | -0.2% | -2.7% |
| Repair and maintenance | ||
| Public housing | 0.8% | 12.1% |
| Private housing | 1.4% | 0.3% |
| Non-housing | -0.3% | 3.1% |
| All R&M | 0.4% | 2.8% |
| All work | 0.1% | -0.4% |
Source: ONS – Construction output in Great Britain, volume, seasonally adjusted, by sector, Table 2a
Source: ONS – Construction output in Great Britain, volume, seasonally adjusted, by sector, Table 2a
Quarterly output figures
The output figures for September complete the data for 3Q2024. New work showed growth of 2%, enough to counteract the 0.6% fall in repair and maintenance, with overall construction output up by 0.8% on the previous quarter, but down by 0.4% on 3Q2023.
| Sector | Change 3Q2024 compared with | |
| 2Q2024 | 3Q2023 | |
| New work | ||
| Public housing | 4.6% | -2.3% |
| Private housing | 0.7% | -4.1% |
| Infrastructure | 2.8% | -8.8% |
| Public other | 2.6% | 4.5% |
| Private industrial | 3.9% | 3.8% |
| Private commercial | 1.4% | -4.2% |
| All new work | 2.0% | -4.1% |
| Repair and maintenance | ||
| Public housing | 5.0% | 9.2% |
| Private housing | -5.8% | 1.2% |
| Non-housing | 2.6% | 6.9% |
| All R&M | -0.6% | 4.8% |
| All work | 0.8% | -0.4% |
Source: ONS – Construction output in Great Britain, volume, seasonally adjusted, by sector, Table 2a
Dr David Crosthwaite, Chief Economist at BCIS, said: ‘While whole economy GDP growth was disappointing, construction output growth in the third quarter outperformed other sectors of the economy and grew by 0.8% on the previous quarter.
‘Growth in new work output, particularly infrastructure, was the main driver as repair and maintenance output declined. Q3 is the summer quarter and is historically accompanied by increased construction output as the weather is better.
‘On the face of it, the output data looks like good news following three quarters of decline. However, on an annual basis, construction output is still lower than the same quarter in 2023, so some way to go before we see material growth in our sector.’
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