Growth of UK construction activity was maintained in April, as firms began work on newly secured contracts. However, falling from 54.7 in March to 53.7 in April, the headline Construction Purchasing Managers' Index - a seasonally adjusted index designed to measure the overall health of the construction economy - indicated that the rate of expansion, albeit still solid, was weaker than in the previous month.

Roy Ayliffe, Director of Professional Practice at the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS), said: "Purchasing managers in the UK construction sector reported another month of solid growth, underpinned by a further rise in new business, as more firms reported success in converting new business opportunities into contracts. Employment expanded again in April, as firms made additional hires to support increased workloads. Despite soaring input prices, operators in the construction sector remained highly optimistic about the future amid expectations of securing lucrative new contracts."

Of the three broad construction areas covered by the survey, activity growth was recorded in two - housing and commercial. With the rate of expansion of residential construction easing markedly since the previous month, growth was stronger in the commercial sub-sector. Remaining above the no-change value of 50.0 for a forty-third successive month, the seasonally adjusted Commercial Activity Index recorded 55.5, signalling the sharpest rate of growth in five months.

Civil engineering activity continued to fall, although the rate of decline was only marginal.

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