Construction output slows by 1.5%

Figures from the ONS show that construction output showed by 1.5% in August.

Construction output decreased by 1.5% in August, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has found.

The slump in output follows a revised increase of 0.5% in July, contributing to a three-month decrease in construction industry output.

New work makes up the majority of the data, with output relating to repair and maintenance facing a fall of between 1.4% and 1.5%.

The longer-term picture suggests output in the construction industry has increased by 0.2% compared with August 2015 with all new work increasing by 1.1%.

This is the second release of construction output covering data post-EU referendum.

The news comes as profitability of UK continental shelf (UKCS) companies fell from the revised quarter one 2016 rate of 1.1% to the lowest recorded level in quarter two 2016 (0.6%) since the series began in 1997.