Brickonomics

Economy not as bad as we thought thanks to construction

The fall in GDP wasn't as big as we thought thanks to stronger than estimated construction activity. That is the assessment of the statisticians who put together the national accounts. But is this good news or bad news for construction?...

Posted by Brian on September 29, 2009 10:51 AM

Construction collapse was faster than first thought, say ONS statisticians

Construction output fell a further 2.4% in the first quarter of this year, according to estimates plugged into the official data used to calculate the UK gross domestic product. The figures for total output of the UK economy in the...

Posted by Brian on April 24, 2009 10:47 AM

Are construction's vital job statistics wrong?

Following the release of numbers suggesting construction jobs increased by 47,000 over 2008 I asked for clarification from the statisticians. To my mind and in the view of anyone in the industry I have spoken to these figures were wildly...

Posted by Brian on March 20, 2009 10:06 AM

I don't believe the construction jobs figures...do you?

Many thanks to Jonathan for commenting below on my thoughts on the jobs figures released this morning. He comes from a recruitment background, so sees the situation first hand, and he seems as puzzled as I do over the official...

Posted by Brian on March 18, 2009 9:05 PM

Did monthly new orders really hit an all time record low in November 2008?

I have been seeing a lot of "worst ever" and "worst since at least" stories about the November new orders figures. I am conscious that so many statistics are being thrown around at the moment that it is confusing. And...

Posted by Brian on January 16, 2009 10:01 AM

Parallel universes

Is it me or are you living in a different world than that described by the national statisticians? Today we are asked to accept that retail sales increased in August led by a jump in sales of shoes and clothes....

Posted by Brian on September 18, 2008 12:59 PM

Construction output falls 0.5% - but the drop is probably worse than it looks

So the construction output figures post a fall of 0.5% in the second quarter and recession in construction now looks more of a forgone conclusion than a fear The first point to note is that was not just the private...

Posted by Brian on September 5, 2008 11:43 AM

A tale of two statistics and why accuracy isn't about decimal places

I received an email late last night suggesting that I might like to blog on the sudden pulling of the property transaction figures - that is the recently introduced dataset that measures residential sales over £40,000. I lead a thrill...

Posted by Brian on August 21, 2008 4:39 PM