THE UK's construction sector remains in "rude health", driven by the fastest rise in new business for a year, a report said.
The latest Markit/CIPS Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) survey for the sector showed that activity eased slightly to give a reading of 58.8 in October, although this was down from a seven-month high of 59.9 in September.
But last month's reading remains comfortably above 50 which indicates growth, and marks two-and-a-half years of sustained output growth across the sector.
The survey said firms remained "highly upbeat" about their prospects as they reported new business rising at the sharpest rate since October last year.
The sector was driven by an uplift in commercial building, with housing and civil engineering work also expanding but at a slower rate.
As a result employment in the sector grew at its fastest level since last November.
This follows PMI data on Monday which showed that manufacturing output unexpectedly jumped to a 16-month high in October, shrugging off months of lacklustre growth.
This has led some economists to say that the final quarter of the year has started strongly after a disappointing third quarter.
Last month official data showed that UK economic growth slowed more than expected in the third quarter of the year to 0.5 per cent from 0.7 per cent in the previous quarter.
However, the PMI's view of construction contrasts with last month's official data which showed the sector contracted by 2.2 per cent in the third quarter, dragging down overall gross domestic product (GDP) growth by 0.1 points over the period.
Tim Moore, senior economist at Markit, said: "Another relatively buoyant construction PMI reading indicates that the sector remains in rude health.
"Rather than acting as a drag on the economy, as suggested by recent GDP estimates, the sector is continuing to act as an important driving force behind the ongoing UK economic upturn."
