The firms were also confident of a strong second quarter, with 78% of those surveyed expecting workloads to either grow or remain constant.
FMB director general Ian Davis said: "It appears that consumer confidence remains healthy, despite the situation in Iraq and the fears of a slowdown in the property market. Builders tend to be cautious in predicting workload, so the fact that they are forecasting growth over the next six months is a good indicator of a buoyant market."
However, the survey also noted continuing problems for builders in trying to find directly employed and subcontract workers. In total, 69% of small and medium-sized firms reported difficulties in sourcing labour – up 4% on the same period last year.
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