A survey which measures the health of the construction sector has found that conditions deteriorated further in November.
The Ulster Bank Construction Purchasing Managers' Index dropped to 34.2 from 34.5 in October, meaning that activity fell more sharply. Any figure below 50 indicates a drop.
Companies surveyed said a fall in levels of new business was the main reason for the deterioration. Employment in the industry fell at the fastest pace for six months. Firms in the industry were also gloomy about future activity, after recording slight optimism in the previous five months.
All three categories covered by the survey showed big drops, with housing at 34.2, commercial activity at 33.2 and civil engineering at 33.9.
'While trends in other areas of the economy are beginning to move in the right direction, the latest reading highlights that the construction sector remains a clear laggard,' said Ulster Bank economist Simon Barry. He said the index had essentially been unchanged at very low levels since September.
