Job Losses Attributed To Construction Sector

A record increase in the number of people 'signing on' for unemployment benefit has been linked to a fall in Irish construction activity.

It fell in February this year to its lowest level since the Ulster Bank began surveying the industry in 2000.

Figures from the separate 'Live Register' have also shown unemployment in the Republic increased by 8,500 in February.

As some 7,000 of the newly unemployed were male workers and this has allowed experts to attribute the rise to lay-offs in construction.

This agrees with the new figures from the Ulster Bank's Construction Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) - the seasonally adjusted index designed to measure the overall performance of the construction economy - where activity fell to 35 in February from a previous 35.3.

An index reading of below 50 represents a decrease in activity. The PMI has posted below the 50 mark for nine months - signalling deteriorating conditions in the construction sector.

However, Pat McArdle, Chief Economist at Ulster Bank explained that the decline in housing was less than in any month since last September, adding: "Confidence, too, picked up."

Commercial activity, he said, was slightly less negative but there was a further marked deterioration in civil engineering.

Of all three construction areas covered by the survey, housing remained the worst performing as activity continued to fall at a substantial rate, the report noted.

The figures show that contraction of civil engineering activity also accelerated markedly and was the sharpest for four-and-a-half years. Commercial activity also fell for the fourth month in a row and at a marked rate.

Results suggest that a general decline in demand, and increased competition for tenders led to the fall in new business.

(BMcC)