A surge in civil engineering work has helped boost the UK construction sector in April.

The latest Markit/CIPS UK Construction PMI was recorded at 53.1 for the month, up from 52.5 in March and the sharpest rise in output so far this year.

Companies reported a solid start to the second quarter of 2017, helped by faster rises in civil engineering and residential building activity. Civil engineering expanded at its fastest rate since March 2016, while residential building hit a four-month high. Commercial building work increased only slightly and at a weaker pace than in March.

Incoming new work also experienced a strong rise, with participants linking this to a most steady economic backdrop and sustained improvement in client demand. The rate of new work expansion was also the strongest seen so far this year, however upturn in business activity remained much slower than levels seen in early-2014.

A rise in the demand in construction materials also contributed to a sharp and accelerated deterioration in vendor performance, with lead-times from suppliers lengthening to the greatest degree since June 2015.

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However, further jobs were created in April thanks to higher volumes of new work across the sector. The rate of employment growth was the strongest since May 2016. Yet, respondents indicated additional pressures on the availability of sub-contractors during April, which added to signs of challenges in recruiting skilled labour.

Looking ahead, five times as many survey respondents (49%) expect a rise in construction output over the year ahead as those that forecast a fall (10%).

Duncan Brock, Director of Customer Relationships at the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply, said: "With the biggest rise in new orders since the beginning of the year, the sector is in a strong pre- election position buoyed up by a hardy UK economy and strong client confidence. The housing sector offered up the best news recovering from last month’s minor blip and building on its strongest performance since the end of last year.

"Employment growth rose to its highest since May 2016, though continued disquiet about the lack of highly-skilled labour availability persisted and which must be addressed if the future strength of the sector is to be assured. Combined with the vexatious conditions of rising commodity and labour costs, low stocks of essential materials and longer delivery times frustrated buyers and added drag to the completion of planned projects.

"But with only a slight dip in business confidence from last month, the sector has proven to be resilient, so the UK Government must take extra steps to ensure the General Election does not knock the sector back into a period of uncertainty and uneven progression, as seen during the referendum months."

(LM)