Construction activity falls again

ALL areas of the Irish construction sector are in decline, with a particularly steep reduction in civil engineering activity.

The Ulster Bank Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index data shows that job cuts have increased and that business is contracting at steeper rates than earlier in the year.

However, modest optimism regarding future prospects for activity was recorded by the index which was at its most positive since February 2008. Optimism largely reflected an expectation that the housing market would stabilise over the coming year.