CONSTRUCTION workloads in the north have plummeted for the fifth consecutive quarter - and builders are laying the blame on the door of the non-functioning Stormont.
The continued absence of an Executive is being acutely felt by the sector as publicly-funded construction work has all-but dried up.
Yet according to the latest regional Construction Monitor from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics), covering the April to June quarter, surveyors are actually less pessimistic about the 12-month outlook than they were in previous surveys.
Overall construction activity languished in negative territory as government funded sub-sectors such as public housing and infrastructure fell deeper into decline.
Indeed workloads fell at twice the rate as the rest of the UK, and Northern Ireland sits rooted to the bottom of the activity table.
Anecdotally, many respondents cited the lack of a functioning Executive and impacts on capital spending as a major challenge for the industry.
There was some solace with a slight improvement in workloads in private housing which, while still is decline, is at its least negative in a year.
Looking ahead, 4 per cent of surveyors expect workloads to rise over the next 12 months - the first time this figure has been in positive territory in over a year.
Regional respondents also told the survey that they expect profit margins to continue to be squeezed over the next 12 months.
And although a skills shortage across the industry continues to be a major challenge, surveyors indicated in the latest survey that it is less severe than in the quarter previous.
Half of those surveyed report a shortage in both quantity surveyors and other construction professionals, while hiring bricklayers is another serious issue.
Rics' regional construction spokesman Jim Sammon said: “The local construction industry continues to face significant challenges in skills shortages, rising costs, and wider economic challenges, all of which are impacting on workloads.
“But we are now seeing the suggestion that these major challenges are perhaps easing a little and this is being reflected in the 12-month outlook.
“The lack of a functioning NI Executive is the one challenge that isn’t getting better and this is impacting on decision-making and ultimately industry activity.
“This is weighing on market conditions with public sector projects playing such an important and vital role in the construction industry here.”
He added: “We very much need a working Executive to ensure that necessary investment in the economy and infrastructure can be delivered efficiently and in a timely way.”
On the wider UK picture, Rics chief economist Simon Rubinsohn said: “Feedback to the Q2 survey shows the rising trend in base rates is leading to increased financial pressures in the construction industry.
“This is not anticipated to lessen any time soon and is also reflected in the cautious assessment regarding the outlook for profitability.
“However, there are some signs of an easing in the extent of skill shortages which is accompanying the flatter trend in activity.
“Infrastructure numbers remain solid, but the survey provides further evidence of the challenges in delivering residential developments at the current time.”
