Activity improves in September

The outlook for the European construction industry improved in September, following two consecutive monthly falls.

A balance figure of +6.7% of survey respondents said activity levels in August were higher than in July. This was down from the figure of -8.2% seen in August, and was the lowest figure recorded in 2016.

The balance figure is the percentage of positive responses minus the percentage of negative responses.

However, respondents showed increased pessimism about the future, with a balance of +27% saying they expected activity to be higher in a year’s time than now. This was down from +43.5% seen in August, which was the second highest figure seen in 2016 so far, with the highest coming in June, at +49.1%.

A balance of +10.1% of survey respondents, however, said activity levels in September were better than a year previously. This compared to a lower balance of +5.9% in August, showing work had improved year-on-year.

The CE Climate figure was also up in September to +14.6%, compared with the +13.7% seen in July, which is now one of five months in 2016 to date to see the figure drop below +20%.

Confidence about the future seems to have taken a dip, despite figures generally increasing month-on-month.

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 1^st to the 15^thof each month on our website. Full information can be found at www.cebarometer.eu