Health & Safety Training Ltd

Construction Industry Sees Rapid Growth in 2014

Trusted reviews from Reviews.io

Read our - reviews

Construction Industry Sees Rapid Growth in 2014

A recent survey shows that the UK construction industry has recently experienced its biggest growth in six and a half years – and the biggest since August 2007!

Rapid Growth in the UK Construction Industry

According to the Markit/CIPS Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) there was a considerable rise in the construction sector in January 2014. A level of 50 in the index indicates expansion, so with the current figure of well over 60, it’s easy to see just how rapid the sector’s growth has been. For instance, last month the construction industry reached a level of 64.6, which, compared to 62.1 for December 2013, shows the increase clearly.

The PMI began in 1997, and the figure for last month was one of the highest since its implementation; Markit’s reasoning for such a sharp growth is that there are more homes being built now. The senior economist at Markit, Tim Moore, said that January’s results offered ‘reassurance’ that the British construction industry’s recovery ‘remains on track’.

Almost Unprecedented Rises

In terms of residential house building, January’s figures revealed that there hadn’t been such a marked increase for over 10 years, and hadn’t been as high since November 2003. However, the growth is widespread and also encompasses civil engineering activity and work on commercial buildings. The figures for both these sectors are the highest they’ve been for some six and a half years.

The signs of a recovery only really became evident in the summer of 2013. Indeed, the rate of increase is almost unprecedented in these two areas in the 16 year history.  In fact, since the PMI’s introduction, the amount of new homes being built has only been more than January’s figure on three occasions.

Another indicator of a recovery in the construction industry was the fact that, for the ninth month in a row, there had been a rise in volumes of new work and, for the eighth consecutive month, there had been an increase in the number of jobs in the sector.

Reasons for the Upturn

The financial crisis that occurred between 2007 and 2009 hit the building industry hard, and the sector has taken years to recover. So much so that the January 2014 figures were a surprise for many!

There were several contributing factors to the growth in the construction sector. Decreasing unemployment, low interest rates and the government’s Help to Buy initiative (along with similar initiatives), which was launched to boost home ownership, were all seen as reasons for the upturn.

Supply and Training Issues

The improving state of the UK construction industry has led to a problem for some suppliers of construction materials. Not all are finding it easy to keep up with demand. One area that will have to be addressed is the need for training in related areas, such as health and safety and forklift training, to be able to keep up with the increasing demand for workers and materials. Failure to keep up with this demand sufficiently means running the risk of having workers with inadequate training, which could lead to a higher accident and prosecution rate. This could damage the chances of success for the industry, so is an investment that should be taken very seriously.

House building in the UK has risen for 12 months in a row, and there are now over a thousand new homes being built every month.

Currently, the quarterly rate of growth in the UK construction sector is around the 4% mark. There is optimism that the pattern of growth in the construction industry, which has been close to record-breaking, will continue throughout 2014.

The True Cost of Improper Health and Safety Success for New Youth Training Initiative
Menu Courses 0191 644 0332 0191 644 0332
Top

By clicking "Accept All Cookies", you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyse site usage, assist in our marketing efforts, and for personalised advertising.

More Information Accept All Cookies