Construction Output In Great Britain: May 2022

16th July 2022

Monthly construction output increased by 1.5% in volume terms in May 2022; this is the seventh consecutive monthly growth following the upwardly revised increase to 0.3% in April 2022; May 2022 is a record high in monthly-level terms (£15,053 million) since records began in January 2010.

The increase in monthly construction output in May 2022 came solely from an increase in new work (2.8%) as repair and maintenance saw a slight decline, decreasing 0.4% on the month.

At the sector level, the main contributors to the increase seen in May 2022 were private commercial new work and private new housing, which increased by 12.1% and 7.2% respectively.

The level of construction output in May 2022 was 4.1% (£598 million) above the February 2020 pre-coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic level; new work was slightly below (£3 million) the February 2020 level, while repair and maintenance work was above (£601 million) the February 2020 level.

The recovery to date, since the falls at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, is mixed at a sector level, with infrastructure 19.0% (£356 million) above and private commercial 21.2% (£524 million) below their respective February 2020 levels in May 2022.

Alongside the monthly increase, construction output increased by 3.0% in the three months to May 2022, with increases seen in both new work, and repair and maintenance (2.4% and 4.1% respectively); this is the seventh consecutive growth in the three-month on three-month series, and the largest growth seen since June 2021 (4.0%).

Revisions in this release are seen back to January 2022 and are consistent with the GDP quarterly national accounts, UK: January to March 2022 bulletin, published on 30 June 2022.

Construction output in May 2022
Monthly construction output increased by 1.5% in volume terms in May 2022. This is the seventh consecutive monthly growth following the upwardly revised increase (0.7 percentage points) to 0.3% in April 2022. May 2022 is a record high in terms of monthly levels (£15,053 million), since records began in January 2010.

Private industrial new work has seen growth in May 2022 and continues to be strong when compared with measures in the previous year. This has come from a rise in warehouses and distribution centres. This is shown further in the new orders data, with warehouses showing an increase that is likely linked to the change in consumers' shopping habits over the coronavirus pandemic. Specifically, this is because of more online spending.

Month-on-month construction output growth in May 2022
The 1.5% rise in construction output in May 2022 represents an increase of £229 million in monetary terms compared with April 2022. Four out of the nine sectors saw an increase.

Private housing new work and private commercial new work were the largest contributions to the monthly increase in May 2022, increasing by 7.2% (£235 million) and 12.1% (£211 million) respectively. The increase seen in private commercial new work comes after a large monthly decrease of 7.0% in April 2022.

Continued anecdotal evidence from businesses that has been gathered over recent months suggests that the increase in private commercial comes from a rise in offices. This is further shown in the new orders data (up 38% in Quarter 1 2022), which is probably linked to office space refurbishments increasing, as employees have been returning to offices.

The increase in turnover is also backed by the latest data from the BICS in the latest waves for construction firms. For the period 1 March 2022 to 31 May 2022, businesses were asked how their turnover in the current month compares with the previous calendar month. There was a rise in the proportion of firms reporting an increase in May 2022 (up to 11% from 8%).

Three-month on three-month construction output growth in May 2022
Construction output rose by 3.0% (£1,307 million) in the three months to May 2022. This is the seventh consecutive increase in the three-month on three-month series. Increases in both new work, and repair and maintenance (2.4% and 4.1% respectively) contributed to the growth, with seven out of the nine sectors seeing an increase.

All repair and maintenance sectors have shown positive growth in the three months to May 2022. As this covers the months March to May 2022, anecdotal evidence gathered over March 2022 suggests that the increase in the repair and maintenance sectors was because businesses had a higher workload in March 2022. This was because of the repair work derived from the storms seen in late February 2022. In these data, February 2022 moves into the comparison period for the first time.

Se the full report with many more details and links at https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/constructionindustry/bulletins/constructionoutputingreatbritain/may2022