The Office for National Statistics has found that November 2021 saw the largest rise in monthly construction output growth since March 2021.
The monthly construction output increased by 3.5% in volume terms in November 2021, with anecdotal evidence from survey returns suggesting the strong demand for work combined with supply chain bottlenecks for certain products easing and the unseasonal mild and dry weather were the main reasons for the increase.
Furthermore, construction output rose 1.6% in the three months to November 2021, the first three-monthly increase since July 2021, with similar increases seen in both new work, and repair and maintenance (1.5% and 1.6% respectively).
The November increase is owed to a 5.7% rise in new work, while repair and maintenance saw a slight decline of 0.2% on the month.
Because of the strong November 2021 monthly growth and minimal revisions to previous months, the level of construction output in November 2021 was 1.3% (£197 million) above the February 2020 pre-pandemic level, while November’s repair and maintenance work was 6.9% (£345 million) above the February 2020 level. However, new work was 1.6% (£148 million) below the February 2020 level.
Meanwhile, the recovery to date, since the declines at the start of the pandemic, is mixed at a sector level, with infrastructure 49.3% (£923 million) above and private commercial 28.0% (£698 million) below their respective February 2020 levels in November 2021.
