Construction activity decreased for the fourth consecutive month in April but business optimism among buyers hit its highest level since December 2024.

The bellwether S&P Global UK Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index recorded 46.6 in April – up slightly from 46.4 in March but below the 50.0 no-change value for the fourth consecutive month.

It signalled the slowest decline in output levels for three months.

Looking ahead, construction firms are optimistic on balance about their prospects for the next 12 months. Around 41% of the survey panel forecast a rise in output, while only 18% predict a decline.

This signalled a slight improvement in business optimism to its highest since December 2024.

Residential work was resilient in April, with the rate of contraction easing to the least marked in 2025 to date (index at 47.1). The latest reduction in activity
was the slowest seen across the three sub-categories of construction work.

Civil engineering remained the weakest-performing area of construction activity in April (43.1), with the latest survey indicating a sharp rate of decline amid a lack of new work to replace completed projects.

Commercial work (45.5) decreased for the fourth month running in April and the pace of decline accelerated to its fastest since May 2020.

Construction companies widely noted that heightened business uncertainty and worries about the broader UK economic outlook had weighed on client demand.

Tim Moore, Economics Director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said: “UK construction companies have endured a bumpy ride since the start of the year as domestic economic headwinds and hesitancy among clients led to a lack of new work to replace completed contracts.

“Output levels continued to slide in April, but the rate of decline eased to its slowest for three months. This was helped by slower reductions in residential building work and civil engineering activity.

“Commercial construction was a weak spot and lost momentum since March. Output decreased at the fastest pace for nearly five years amid reports of greater risk aversion among clients and a wait-and-see approach to major spending decisions.

“Despite a sharp and accelerated fall in input buying, strong cost pressures persisted in April. Overall input price inflation eased only slightly from March’s 26-month peak. Survey respondents commented on rising prices paid for a range of raw materials, as well as efforts by suppliers to pass on greater payroll costs.

“An encouraging development in April was a slight improvement in business activity expectations for the year ahead. Output growth projections improved to the highest level so far this year, with a number of survey respondents citing the prospect of a turnaround in workloads across the residential building segment.”