UK Construction output suffered its biggest annual drop since 2013 adding to disappointing economic data
Construction output suffered its biggest annual drop since 2013 in November, adding to a string of disappointing data which suggests the UK economy is struggling to recover from a mid-year slowdown.
Construction output fell 0.5 per cent in the month to November, data from the Office for National Statistics has shown, missing economists' expectations for a 0.5 per cent rise.
It fell 1.1 per cent annually, versus expectations that it would stagnate that month, which is the biggest annual drop since May 2013.
It comes after economic data released earlier this week showed Britain's manufacturing sector shrunk by 1.2 per cent annually in November. Similarly, a separate release revealed that the economy was growing more slowly than was previously thought.
At the same time, economists cautioned over the reliability of the construction data, which is often subject to revisions.
"However, it should be borne in mind that considerable doubts remain over the accuracy of the hard construction data and that survey evidence has been pointing to growth in the sector, albeit appreciably weaker than the peak levels seen in 2014," Howard Archer, chief economist at IHS, said.