Construction growth accelerates

New orders played a major part in the acceleration of growth in the construction sector in August as new orders picked up, a survey has revealed today (Thursday).

The Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply's monthly construction Purchasing Managers' Index rose to a seasonally adjusted 55.8 in August, the 67th consecutive month above the 50 no-change mark, from 54.2 in July.

Roy Ayliffe, director of professional practice at CIPS, said: "Purchasing managers saw further steady growth in the construction sector in August, driven mainly by the awarding of new contracts and buoyant underlying market conditions.

"Encouragingly, staffing levels expanded at a strong rate this month, as firms hired to meet rising workloads. Furthermore, favourable conditions in the sector look set to remain, with panel firms anticipating continued growth over the next year."

The new orders sub-index rose to 59.6 from 58.1 in July while the employment index increased to 54.0 from 52.5.