The recession in the construction industry eased in May, according to data from the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply

An overall index figure of 45.9 indicated a fall in activity since April, but the rate of decline was the weakest in over a year. Any figure below 50 indicates a contraction in activity.

Roy Ayliffe, director at CIPS, said: 鈥淎fter appearing to be in freefall in February, we are starting to see the construction economy show some signs of life and steer itself back onto the road of recovery.鈥�

But he added: 鈥淭his data suggests that, while the sector may be out of the intensive care unit, it鈥檚 still some way from making a full return to health and there is always danger of a relapse.鈥�

The housebuilding sector produced the most encouraging numbers, with a figure of 48.9.

Paul Smith, senior economist at Markit, said: 鈥淭his augurs well for improvements in housebuilding and house price data.鈥� 

Confidence among purchasing managers at construction firms jumped to a 21-month high of 72.6.

Smith said: 鈥淭he underlying trends in the key demand and activity indices are now clearly upward and consistent with a much slower rate of industry contraction.鈥�

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