CE Barometer September 2013: Improvement continues

Confidence in the European construction strengthened in September according to the results of the CE Barometer survey. The improvement followed an encouraging up-tick in August, but overall the recovery – if it is one – still looks fragile.

One of the most noticeable improvements was the improved sentiment about the future outlook for the industry. Already strong in August with a balance of +30.2% of respondents saying they expected activity levels to increase over the next 12 months, September’s survey saw that figure jump once again to a balance of +42.2%.The balance figure is the percentage of positive responses, minus the number of negative ones.

Another important indicator was the fact that 2.4% of respondents said they now found activity levels were higher than 12 months ago. Although not positive by a convincing margin, it was the second month running that this measure was in the black, after sitting in negative territory since early 2012.

Respondents also said month-on-month activity picked up in September, with a balance of +9.6% saying they were busier this month than in August.

The strengthening of all three measures of confidence helped the CE Climate – a broad measure of the state of the industry – rise further, to +18.1%, from +12.2% in August. The last time it was at these heights was mid-2011.

Take part

The survey, which takes just a one minute to complete, is open to all construction professionals working in Europe. The CE Barometer survey is open from the 1st to the 15^th of each month on our website. Full information can be found at www.cebarometer.eu