UK construction growth hits 14-month high in April, PMI survey shows

British construction companies enjoyed their fastest expansion in more than a year during April, despite a further drop in house-building, according to a survey on Tuesday that added to signs of an economic recovery from recession.

The S&P Global UK Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index rose to 53.0 from 50.2 in March – moving further above the 50-point growth threshold and marking the fastest growth since February 2023.

The survey’s gauges of commercial work and civil engineering shot higher, although the housing sector’s downturn worsened in April. Recent house price surveys have pointed to a moderation in the housing market’s recovery.

Tuesday’s PMI chimed with other business surveys that suggest Britain’s economy returned to modest growth in early 2024 after its shallow downturn in the final two quarters of last year.

“Demand was boosted by greater confidence regarding the broader UK economic outlook,” Tim Moore, economics director at S&P Global said.

The survey signalled a fourth successive contraction in employment among construction firms, albeit the shallowest for three months.

The all-sector PMI, which includes last week’s surveys for the services and manufacturing sectors, as well as construction, rose to a one-year high of 54.0 in April from 52.6 in March.