Construction recovery gathers pace

The recovery of the construction industry gathered pace last month as growth in residential housing projects hit a 15-year high and employment rose for the eleventh straight month.

Overall activity in the sector also rose sharply in July and quickened to its fastest pace in three months while new business orders growth was the fastest in a decade, according to new figures contained in Ulster Bank’s Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI).

The pace of growth in the number of new homes being built was the quickest ever recorded in the 15-year history of the survey while the overall index rose from 59.9 to 62.6 in the month.