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Published: 12/09/2024
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 decreased in July
Construction output decreased 0.4% in July 2024 compared with the previous month, according to the latest ONS data. New work output fell 0.2%, while repair and maintenance (R&M) work decreased 0.7%.
On an annual basis, new work output in July 2024 was down 6.6% on July 2023. R&M output was up 5.8% on the same period.
In new work, there were annual decreases in all sectors apart from public other and private industrial.
The largest increase in monthly output was in private industrial new work (3.3%), whilst, on an annual basis, R&M for public housing indicated the largest increase (8.2%).
| Sector | Change in July 2024 compared with | |
| June 2024 | July 2023 | |
| New work | ||
| Public housing | 2.4% | -3.1% |
| Private housing | -0.4% | -6.3% |
| Infrastructure | 0.6% | -11.0% |
| Public other | -0.7% | 1.1% |
| Private industrial | 3.3% | 0.2% |
| Private commercial | -2.3% | -7.3% |
| All new work | -0.2% | -6.6% |
| Repair and maintenance | ||
| Public housing | 2.0% | 8.2% |
| Private housing | -1.6% | 2.9% |
| Non-housing | -0.4% | 7.6% |
| All R&M | -0.7% | 5.8% |
| All work | -0.4% | -1.6% |
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
Dr David Crosthwaite, Chief Economist at BCIS, said: ‘Another set of disappointing output data for the construction sector, particularly for new work growth, which has been trending downwards for over a year.
‘The only real positive is that Repair and Maintenance output has grown robustly on an annual basis, despite the slowdown in July.’
Across the wider economy, GDP showed no growth in July 2024, as was the case in June. Services output grew by 0.1% but, alongside the fall in construction output, production output decreased by 0.8%.
Dr Crosthwaite said: ‘GDP growth was lower in July than most economists had expected and confirms that growth in the UK economy was flatlining in the summer. We can only hope for a post-election uplift in the next set of results.’
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