In what is traditionally a slow summer month for construction, August turned out to provide a welcoming boost for the construction industry, as the value of new contracts awarded reached £5.8 billion based on a three-month moving average, resulting in a 7% increase on the month and the highest recorded figure since March 2017.

The latest edition of the Economic & Construction Market Review from industry analysts Barbour ABI, highlights the levels of construction contract values awarded in August across all regions of Great Britain. As it has done since late last year, residential construction performed strongly and accounted for £2.7 billion on the month – the highest recorded figure since Barbour ABI began tracking the series. The high-level of residential work greatly helped the number of construction projects commissioned in August, seeing a monthly increase of 20% and up 15% from August 2016.

Commenting on the figures, Michael Dall, Lead Economist at Barbour ABI, said, “The construction sector can once again be thankful for the strong showing of the residential sector, which provided £1.8 billion more than any other sector in August, along with an increase of 55% compared with August 2016.”

Photo: House building in August was up 15% on the same period in 2016.