Construction provides a major boost to the UK economoy

Figures produced by the Office for National Statistics today (Friday) show that growth in the UK's construction industry has been a major contributor to a small amount of overall growth in the British economy in the first quarter of 2002.

Bewteen quarter four of 2001 and quarter one of 2002, the output of the agricultural, fisheries and forestry industry rose by 0.3%. In contrast construction rose by 3% over the quarter.

Commenting on the official figures, Construction Confederation president John Gains said: "It is very encouraging for everybody in our industry to see that output has forged ahead by 3% in comparison with the previous quarter.

"Our contribution is very significant - it is the industry's best performance in 12 years, outstripping all other main production and service sectors.

"These figures demonstrate the importance of construction to the UK economy.  It is often forgotten that the industry overall contributes about 10% of GDP and employs around 1.6 million people. These latest figures are a further signal that career prospects are excellent in construction," he added.

Despite the positive picture for construction, Gains warned that industry's future prosperity hinged on the publication of next month's
Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR).

"It is our view that private sector work for the industry will be less robust over the forthcoming period and the government's spending plans for schools, hospitals and infrastructure will be crucial for the sustained growth of the construction economy," he said.