The construction component of GDP has been revised upward slightly in the latest estimate of the UK’s economic output, as expected.
This did not shift the overall value of GDP in the first quarter or the 0.5% growth rate, mainly because the statisticians now reckon the business services and finance sector did slightly worse than they first thought.
The index for construction component of GDP the first quarter of this year recorded in the preliminary estimate was 93.6. In the latest figures (the second estimate of GDP) the figure stands at 94.3.
This suggests that the fall in output for the first quarter was 4% as opposed to 4.7%.
For the industry, though, the revision will not get over their growing concerns with the figures.
The informed view within the industry is that the recorded fall in the final quarter of last year, put at 2.3% understates the drop in work, while the industry thinks there was growth in the first quarter when the figures show a 4% drop.
While the ONS does constantly work to improve its data, there is still a view within the industry for a thorough review of the construction series new and old, which this blog would support.
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