The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ (RICS) Q4 2016 Construction Market Survey has seen expectations across the construction sector regain the ground lost following the EU Referendum.
Following a noticeable dip around the time of the EU referendum, expectations for output growth over the year to come strengthened for the second consecutive report, and the twelve-month workloads expectations series improved to post a reading of +57% (following +49% and +23%
in Q3 and Q2, respectively).
Alongside this, employment expectations improved for the second straight report, with 41% more respondents anticipating a rise in construction sector employment over the year to come. As such, both employment and workload expectations have now recovered to their pre-referendum levels.
The latest results point to modest growth across the sector in the final quarter of 2016, with 18% more respondents reporting an increase in total workloads. However, while the data is broadly positive, the anecdotal comments left by chartered surveyors do continue to highlight uncertainty surrounding the departure from the EU to be dampening investment and activity.
During Q4, output increased in most sub sectors except public non-housing. Following the pattern of the last three quarters, the strongest quarterly rise in workloads was reported in the private housing sector. 27% more respondents cited an increase in private housing workloads (rather than a decrease). A rise in workloads was also reported in the private commercial and infrastructure sectors.
Skill shortages continue to be a key impediment to growth in the sector, although they have eased in five consecutive reports.
Jeremy Blackburn, RICS head of policy, said: “Many firms are currently having to bring construction professionals in from outside the UK. The lack of quantity surveyors consistently apparent in our survey is also underscored by the fact that, at the moment, under the government’s Shortage Occupation List, it is easier to employ a ballet dancer than a quantity surveyor.
“Even if we were to reverse this and also ensure that through Brexit we maintain access to EU workforce, we would still have a domestic shortfall of skills. The Industrial Strategy is a golden opportunity to align education, training and employer work paths – along with modern methods of construction – to ensure we have the skilled workforce to meet our building targets.”
