Revised construction figures improve GDP
By Richard Johnstone | 10 August 2012
The decline in gross domestic product in the second quarter of 2012 is smaller than first estimated following the update of construction figures, the Office for National Statistics revealed today.
Total construction work in the three-month period fell by 3.9% compared with the first quarter of 2012, rather than the 5.2% predicted in July’s preliminary figures.
The smaller fall in construction output is likely to reduce the second quarter GDP decline by 0.1 percentage points, the ONS said, although this will be formally confirmed in future releases. July’s figures showed the UK economy had shrunk by 0.7%.
The revised estimate highlighted that there were still ‘widespread falls’ in construction output in the second quarter of 2012, compared with the first. Output in eight of the nine construction sectors monitored declined, with the largest decrease in new infrastructure construction, which fell by 8.6%.
Compared with the same quarter in 2011, total construction output fell by 9.5%.
