Fourth Year Of Recession For UK Builders

The UK construction sector is facing a fourth consecutive year of recession.

According to the Federation of Master Builders (FMB), a third of builders are expecting to cut staff over the next 12 months as output continues to fall.

FMB said that Government cuts are making matters worse, with more than half of builders reporting a fall in public repair and maintenance work while the rise in VAT will also cost 7,500 jobs in the sector, it forecast.


The FMB added that cuts to social housing are also having a big impact on its members.

However, growth would return to the industry with much of this coming from the waste sector, the Government's Green Deal and underlying demand for social housing.

The Green Deal, which is designed to help people make their homes more energy efficient, would a boost for the smaller firms as well as the fact that there are five million people on the waiting list for social housing means that big building companies will be able to recover far more quickly from the downturn.

(BMcC/KMcA)