The downturn in the UK construction sector continues but moderated slightly in March. It’s not a good look with all three subsectors (commercial building, residential building, civil engineering) still in decline. Adding to that is a steep decline in employment levels, so that’s something to be wary about. S&P Global notes that:

“March data highlighted a challenging month for UK
construction companies as sharply reduced order
volumes continued to weigh on overall workloads.

“Civil engineering experienced the biggest setback as
activity decreased to the greatest extent since October
2020. Survey respondents commented on subdued sales
pipelines and a subsequent lack of infrastructure work to
replace completed projects.

“Commercial work also saw a headwind from delayed
decision-making on major projects, largely due to worries
about the impact of rising global economic uncertainty.
The downturn in residential construction activity
nonetheless eased since February, providing a source
of encouragement despite ongoing reports of sluggish
demand conditions.

“Construction companies remained cautious about
their year ahead growth prospects, as fewer sales
conversions and a third successive monthly reduction
in total new work hit confidence levels. Overall business
optimism slipped to its lowest since October 2023.
“A lack of new projects, alongside pressure on margins
from rising payroll costs, led to hiring freezes and the
non-replacement of departing staff in March. The net
result was the fastest pace of job shedding across the
construction sector for nearly four-and-a-half years.”