Construction activity continued to decline in mid-quarter. The November sector PMI weighed in at 45.5, some 1.5 points short of the market consensus and 0.1 point below its October print. This was the third consecutive outturn beneath the 50-expansion threshold and the second-weakest since May 2020.

In line with recent months, weakness was broad-based but dominated by the housing market where the subsector PMI (39.2) remained deep in recession territory. Elsewhere, commercial building (48.1) again held relatively firm but civil engineering (43.5) contracted sharply and at a slightly faster pace than in October.

Aggregate new orders fell for a fourth straight month, albeit at the slowest pace since August, and both purchasing activity and headcount were cut. Soft demand was also reflected in another shortening in supplier delivery times while input costs fell at the steepest rate since July 2009. Business confidence in the year ahead rose from the previous month but was still well short of the levels seen in the first half of the year.

Just like in October, the November results point to a poor quarter for the construction industry in general and for house building in particular. Even so, with the UK RPI at 31 and the RPI-P at 29, overall economic activity continues to outpace market expectations.

The sector PMI is put at 47.0, up from October's 45.6.

The Construction Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) provides an estimate of business activity in the UK construction sector for the preceding month based on data compiled from monthly replies to questionnaires sent to purchasing executives in over 170 construction companies. The panel is stratified geographically and by Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) group, based on the regional and industry contribution to gross domestic product. Results are synthesised into a single index which can range between zero and 100. A reading above (below) 50 signals rising (falling) activity versus the previous month and the closer to 100 (zero) the faster is activity growing (contracting). The data are compiled by the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS) and S&P Global.

The survey is based on techniques successfully developed in the USA over the last 60 years by the National Association of Purchasing Management. It is designed to provide one of the earliest indicators of significant change in the economy. The data collected are not opinion on what might happen in the future, but hard facts on what is actually happening at 'grass roots' level in the economy. As such the information generated on economic trends pre-dates official government statistics by many months.