Key Statistics: 17 February 2015

Construction

• Output in the construction industry fell by 2.1% in the final quarter of the year, according to estimates from the Office for National Statistics. New work private housing output fell by 0.2% on the previous three months, the first fall since 2013 Q1. All new work output still rose on the previous quarter, by 0.6%, pushed by rising infrastructure, commercial and public non-residential work. A sharp 6.3% fall in R&M work dragged output volumes lower compared to the previous quarter. However compared to a year earlier output was up 4.8%. This estimate of annual growth has been lifted by revisions to 2014 figures. Output in the three months to November is now estimated to have been 5.7% higher than a year earlier, up from 3.7% indicated in last month’s release.

Economy

• Output from the UK’s production industries rose by 0.1% in the final quarter of the year, according to ONS figures. This was fuelled by a 0.2% rise in manufacturing output compared to the previous three months. Over 2014 as a whole manufacturing output is estimated to have risen by 2.7%, however activity fell across the heavier industrial sectors, dragging overall growth in production lower at 1.4%.