If you take the figures at face value, things have just gotten a lot worse for construction and a recession now seems inevitable and potentially deeper than first thought.

According to the newly revised GDP figures for the second quarter of this year UK economic growth has come to a grinding halt, with falls in construction playing a greater role in the slowdown than estimated last month.

As revisions go this is a pretty significant one. The GDP figures that measure the goods and services produced by the nation now show no growth for the months April to June, rather than the 0.2% growth posted in the preliminary figures.

For construction the figures are worse. The fall of 0.7% recorded in the preliminary figures have been revised to a fall of 1.1%.

To those in the industry this level of fall in the second quarter will not be much of a shock. Simple figures show that in terms of output house building accounts (or did before the collapse) for roughly 16% of total construction output. That roughly means a reduction in potential construction output of 1.6% for each 10% fall in house building.

Given the numbers being bandied about of 25% less house building work on the go and, looking very much on the bright side, it may just be the case that the rest of construction is plodding along nicely.

Personally I will be surprised if the overall picture in construction is bright if we take out house building. But like many others I will be looking with interest at what the statisticians provide for us in the next detailed figures for construction output when they are released in early September.