The outlook for the European construction industry has remained largely steady during January, it has emerged…
European construction outlook remained steady in January, with some improvements. This is according to the latest CE Barometer survey.
New figures revealed that -6.1 per cent of construction workers surveyed thought their activity levels in January were lower than in December. This is an improvement on a month earlier, when this figure reached -13 per cent.
The figures, which are calculated using the percentage of positive responses minus the percentage of negative responses, are indicative of a reduction in activity across Europe. This is an expectation, due to the pattern of seasonal downturn, which reportedly started in November.
During January, a positive balance of +11.5 per cent of respondents reported they had a higher workload than a year ago. Comparatively, the same question in December saw a response of -7.8 per cent.
The survey also found there were strong feelings of positivity about the future of European construction. A total of 31.3 per cent of respondents said they expected activity levels to be higher a year from now.
The survey also revealed that overall the CE Climate figure, a composite number based on responses to all questions, rose from +2.6 per cent in December to +12.2 per cent in January. This echoed the results seen in November and October 2015. However, the figures remain lower than the higher levels of positivity seen over the summer months.