Buyers in the construction industry have been reporting the largest boom in job creation since the Markit/CIPS UK Construction PMI surveys began in 1997.

The data from July indicated there has been the fastest increase in residential construction since November 2003 and saw the rates of subcontractors increased at a record pace.



Group CEO of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply, David Noble said: “The house building sector is racing ahead this quarter with the fastest growth in construction of homes for over a decade.” With the growth in house building experienced the “fastest acceleration in employment the index has ever seen.”



“The commercial and civil engineering sectors also pulled their weight with continued growth, to deliver one of the fastest overall increases in output since 2007.”



There is a cautionary note; the supply chain could potentially become a factor to hold back growth as buyers have reported a lengthening of delivery times. Although this is an interesting observation, at OBAS we've not yet seen a lengthening of delivery times from our suppliers, even though we've seen a dramatic increase in the number of orders for building supplies we’re receiving.



Noble went on to say: “In the short term at least, the outlook for the coming quarter is strong with the level of new orders continuing to rise and confidence for the year ahead growing steadily since June. ”



Tim Moore, Senior Economist at Markit said: “July’s figures suggest the UK construction sector is enjoying its strongest cyclical upswing since the global financial crisis, while a new record rise in employment highlights that construction firms are increasingly confident about the sustainability of the upturn.”