UK construction companies are seeing a burst in construction activity driven by growth in housing sector. The Markit/CIPS Construction Purchasing Managers? Index (PMI), a survey of around 170 UK construction companies, showed that optimism had reached its highest level since January 2007. Tim Moore, a senior economist at Markit, stated that the rise in residential construction was one of the sharpest recorded in the past ten years.
The survey showed that companies were hiring staff at the fastest pace recorded in last four months. A combination of record low interest rates, taxpayer-backed programmes, housing schemes and falling unemployment has resulted in recovery over the past year.