The fall was led by a 1% drop in new work, mainly from private housing new work, down 3% and commercial down 1.8%.<\/p>\n
Compared with the same month last year all new housing is now down 6.1%, while commercial build is up 7.5% and industrial up 13% to its highest level on record.<\/p>\n
Clive Docwra, managing director of property and construction consultancy McBains, said:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u201cAfter last month\u2019s figures fuelled hopes of green shoots of recovery, today\u2019s statistics will come as a blow to the construction sector.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cParticularly disappointing was that the fall was as a result of a decrease in new work, suggesting that confidence remains low among many big investors.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s <\/span>little surprise that private housing continues to struggle, and with <\/span>falling <\/span>house prices and low mortgage approval rates it will take some months before volume housebuilding shows a turnaround.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n