The case for optimism in construction

By Chloë McCulloch2025-08-12T06:00:00

Amid the economic doom and gloom, some commentators believe confidence is returning, just slowly. So what will give it a boost?

Construction folk tend to be plain speaking, and if you ask them about the state of the market – as the Building team frequently does – they tell you straight. “Grim” is how one boss described conditions, and this pessimism seems to be backed up by the latest sentiment data coming from the Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for construction last week.

With any score under 50 representing no growth, it was clear that the latest indicator slump to 44.3 – the sharpest fall since the height of the pandemic in May 2020 – was not good news. The survey showed all sub-sectors contracting and companies buying fewer materials and reducing headcount.

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