As the general election approaches and uncertainty around Brexit continues, economic indicators are starting to get darker
This week marked another in which the economic indicators for the UK turned that little bit darker 鈥� though nothing like conclusively enough for construction firms to start piling up the sandbags just yet.
The Office for National Statistics reported that construction output fell for the third consecutive month in March, falling by 0.7% in March led by weaker repair and maintenance activity. Nonetheless, output for the whole of the first quarter was still above that estimated for the last quarter of 2016.
On the housing side, both the RICS鈥� monthly residential survey and the Halifax price index provided more weight to the sense of activity and demand ebbing away in the housing market.
The Halifax said house prices had fallen 0.2% in the past three months, while the RICS said the calling of an early election had appeared to create 鈥渁n additional layer of uncertainty鈥� in the market.
More significantly, perhaps, Bank of England governor Mark Carney presented a decidedly mixed monthly report on the economy, with 鈥渁ggregate demand slowing markedly鈥� in the first three months of this year. On the positive side, he said the global economy was performing better than expected, boosting export demand, and that 鈥渂usiness investment growth is likely to be higher in 2017 than previously projected鈥� 鈥� a key metric for construction. The outlook for living standards, however, was bleak 鈥� with inflation forecast to rise further as wage growth stagnates.
Contact your candidate
You can download this model letter to your constituency candidates by clicking here.
The letter summarises construction鈥檚 importance to the UK economy and calls on election candidates to consider the key demands in the 好色先生TV a Better Brexit manifesto.
A list of the candidates is available from the official political parties鈥� websites, along with contact details. Feel free to add local examples of important construction projects or related issues 鈥� we would also be interested to hear about these local stories, so please email us building@ubm.com.
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