When will the construction sector recover?
The latest construction purchasing managers index (PMI) has confirmed what many people had feared with the construction sector contracting for the 22nd month in a row. Even though there are signs that the UK economy as a whole may well be stabilising and potentially turning the corner there is concern that the construction sector will lag the recovery and could struggle for some time to come. So why will the sector lag the UK recovery?
In simple terms, as the recession hit home there were a number of construction projects underway and a number which had just been finished. While these will range from office buildings to homes and everything else in between, there will need to be an increase in demand to take up the slack which was left behind when the construction sector collapsed - before any new projects can be delivered to the private sector. How long this will take depends upon the speed and strength of the eventual UK economic recovery, something which nobody is certain of.
When you also consider that the construction sector was one of the largest employment arenas in the UK economy there will at some point be a significant reduction in unemployment numbers but again this may be some way down the line yet.
Share this..
Related stories
Finally we have competition for Google
The US Department of Justice and the European Commission have today waived through a partnership between Microsoft and Yahoo! which could create an alternative to the Internet giant which is Google. This comes at a time when Google is moving into different fields and dominating many areas of the online arena despite various regulatory attempts to rein in the company's power. Under the terms of...
Read MoreErnst & Young optimistic regarding UK economy
The very influential Ernst & Young Item Club has today issued a very encouraging and moderately upbeat report on the UK economy and the UK housing market. Experts at Ernst & Young believe that while the UK housing market and the UK economy will soften during the remainder of 2010 and into 2011, they are only forecasting a reduction in house prices of 5% from the recent peak and at worst a soft pat...
Read MoreThe eight Tory party economic benchmarks
Shadow Chancellor George Osborne has today issued eight Tory party economic benchmark measurements which he believes will allow those in the UK and around the world to measure the performance of the UK economy. One of the major pledges is to retain the UK's AAA credit rating which has been under a little doubt over the last few months because of the large budget deficit predicted for the next few...
Read MoreCan Gordon Brown continue until the next election?
Despite the fact that Gordon Brown would appear to have survived yet another attempted leadership coup it is believed that no mention of the issue was made at today's Cabinet meeting which was attended by big players in the UK government. Surely the issue of a potential leadership coup should have been top of the agenda as Gordon Brown and his allies look to stamp out this unruly behaviour from wi...
Read MoreWhy has the UK banking sector been hit so hard?
The very downbeat and depressing assessment of the UK banking sector by credit rating agency Standard & Poor's has cast a very dark cloud over the UK economy. More and more people are wondering exactly how the UK economy appears to have been hit harder than any other around the globe with the UK banking sector still under enormous pressure. It is difficult to understand exactly why the UK banki...
Read More