Activity in the Irish construction sector fell at a faster rate last month.
The Ulster Bank Construction PMI fell again in November to stand at 41.7 from 42.3 in October. The bank said the reading signalled a substantial decline in building activity that was the fastest since May.
Although activity fell across all three sectors in November, the reduction in civil engineering activity was much steeper than those seen in the residential and commercial areas. The decline in activity in civil engineering was the fastest since September 2009.
Ulster Bank's economist Simon Barry said the ongoing retrenchment in the Government's capital programme is weighing heavily on both activity and confidence levels, with sentiment regarding future prospects for the sector plunging to an 18-month low.
Employment levels continued to fall, mainly in response to the fall in workloads. As with activity and new business, the pace of decline in job losses accelerated, and was the fastest in six months.
'Declining levels of new incoming business remains a critical issue facing the sector, as tentative signs of stabilisation in the summer have given way to renewed weakness in new orders in the past three months,' Simon Barry added.
