LONDON, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Britain's construction industry
grew at the fastest rate in almost five years in July as
business picked up after COVID-related shutdowns, survey data
showed on Thursday, mirroring a rapid rebound in manufacturing
and parts of the services sector.
However, the sector has a long way to go before output
returns to pre-COVID levels, and construction firms are still
shedding jobs at one the fastest rates since the global
financial crisis.
The IHS Markit/CIPS construction Purchasing Managers' Index
rose to 58.1 in July from 55.3 in June - slightly above
economists' forecasts in a Reuters poll and a sharp rebound from
April's record low of 8.2.
"Survey respondents noted a boost to sales from easing
lockdown measures across the UK economy and reduced anxiety
about starting new projects. However, new work was still
relatively thin on the ground," IHS Markit's economics director,
Tim Moore, said.
Taylor Wimpey, one of Britain's biggest house
builders, said last week it expected to complete 40% fewer homes
this year than in 2019.
The index represents the pace of growth, not the level of
production, and the sector still has a long way to recover after
construction output collapsed by more than 40% in March and
April, according to official data.
Construction accounts for about 6% of Britain's economy.
July's all-sector PMI, which includes the much larger
services and manufacturing sectors, rose to its highest since
June 2015 at 57.1, following similarly robust services and
manufacturing PMIs on Monday and Wednesday.
The acceleration in construction was dominated by a bounce
in house building, with commercial and civil engineering
projects slower to get off the ground, and new order growth has
not caught up with the robust pace seen in February.
The employment index fell back to 35.4 from June's 41.5 -
representing one of the steepest drops in job numbers since the
2008-09 financial crisis.
(Reporting by David Milliken; Editing by Hugh Lawson)