CE Barometer August 2012: Confidence slumps again

Confidence in the European construction sector took another knock in August, as current activity fell further and enthusiasm about the future waned.

The most striking result from August's CE Barometer survey was that a negative balance of -21.8% of respondents said activity had slipped lower month-on-month. A seasonal downturn over the summer holiday period is a common phenomenon for the CE Barometer, but at -21.8%, this measure of confidence was unusually low. The balance figure is the percentage of positive responses, minus the number of negative ones.

August also saw sentiment about the future fall, although it remained in positive territory. A balance of just +7.9% of respondents said they thought activity would be higher in a year's time. This was the lowest this measure of confidence has been all year.

Interestingly though, the consensus was that activity levels were lower this August than they were a year ago, with a balance of 23.6% of respondents giving this view.

As a result, the CE Climate - an amalgamation of all the survey's results - fell from July's marginal result of -0.7% to -12.5%, planting it firmly in negative territory. This was the lowest the CE Climate has been since last November, when business confidence was rocked by the potential collapse of the Euro Zone.

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