The main points:

  • Monthly construction output is estimated to have decreased 0.6% in volume terms in April 2023; this follows two months of consecutive growth.

  • The decrease in monthly output came from a decrease in new work (1.0% fall), with a small offset from an increase in repair and maintenance (0.1%) on the month. 

  • At the sector level, five out of the nine sectors saw a fall in April 2023, with the main contributors to the monthly decrease being private housing repair and maintenance and private housing new work, which decreased 5.7% (£149 million) and 3.0% (£99 million), respectively.

  • Anecdotal evidence suggested a continued slow-down in private housing, referencing economic worries with customers hesitant to request work; despite this, similar to last month, some companies across other sectors have again reported an easing in inflation.

  • Alongside the monthly decrease, construction output saw an increase of 1.6% in the three months to April 2023; this is the eighth period of consecutive growth in the three-month-on-three-month series; the increase came solely from a rise in repair and maintenance (5.7%), as new work saw a decrease of 0.9%.

  • The largest positive contributor to the increase in the three months to April 2023 was private housing repair and maintenance (7.1%); despite the large decrease on the month, this sector saw strong growth in the previous two months; non-housing repair and maintenance (4.6%) was the other main contributor to the three-month-on-three-month increase.

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