The UK’s construction industry has surged to levels of activity last seen in June 2010, according to the new Markit/CIPS Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index report.
The survey reported that a continued rise in the amount of new houses being built has led to the boost, which saw activity levels increase from 51.0 in June to 57.0 last month.
Any level recorded that is above 50 indicates expansion within the sector, the report confirmed, offering positive news for an industry that has suffered deeply as a result of the global financial crisis.
Markit senior economist, Tim Moore, told the BBC: “July’s survey highlights a new wave of optimism across the UK construction sector.”
Mr Moore also went on to say that construction firms were reporting “a pace of expansion in excess of anything seen over the past three years”.
Measures rolled out by the Government in March of this year, such as the Help to Buy scheme, aimed at assisting people in purchasing their first homes, have helped to boost levels of house building across the country.
The chief European and UK economist for IHS Global Insight, Howard Archer, called the survey “more good news for the UK economy, with the construction sector seemingly increasingly shrugging off its long-term problems and now contributing to growth”.