July Construction Update from the Department for Business & Trade

Main points:

• Total construction output is estimated to have grown by 1.6% in the three months to May 2026; this is the third consecutive increase in the three-monthly series.

• Over the three-month period, both new work and repair and maintenance grew by 1.1% and 2.1%, respectively.

• At the sector level, seven out of the nine sectors grew in the three months to May 2026; the main positive contributor to the increase was non-housing repair and maintenance, which grew by 3.0%.

• Monthly construction output is estimated to have fallen by 0.8% in May 2026; this follows a decrease of 0.1% (revised from an increase of 0.1%) in April 2026, and an increase of 1.4% in March 2026.

• The decrease in monthly output in May 2026 came solely from a decrease in repair and maintenance, which fell by 2.1%, while new work grew by 0.2%; the main contributor to the monthly decrease in repair and maintenance was private housing repair and maintenance, which fell by 5.0%.