Second quarter growth recorded by the ONS follows a 2.7% fall in the first quarter

Output across the construction industry increased by 1.1% during the second quarter of 2011, according to new figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS).

This compares with a fall of 2.7% in the first quarter of 2011.

Recent figures have generally recorded a drop in the sector’s output. ONS statistics released earlier this month show that output is now 3.3% lower than at the same time a year ago.

Private industrial work has taken a particular hit of late, and saw a drop of 13.4% year-on-year according to the three-month average for May, June and July 2011, compared to the same months in 2010.

The new figures come the day after the Markit/CIPS published a Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index figure of 50.1, only fractionally above the 50.0 no-change threshold that separates expansion from contraction.

According to the Index, September 2011 saw the lowest level of construction activity for 19 months.

These results will do little to boost confidence for the fourth quarter of 2011, as they show growth in the sector has slowed to near-stagnation.

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