CE Barometer March 2012: Another small improvement

March saw confidence in the Europe construction sector take another step forward, with month-on-month activity improving for the second month in a row and sentiment about the future remaining strong.

Following on from February's marginal result a balance - the number of positive responses minus the number of negative ones - of +24.3% of respondents to the march survey said they were busier this month than in February. It was the first time this level of confidence had been as high since April 2011.

Sentiment about the future remained strong at +17.1%, although this was down a few points from the balance figure of +20.4% Seen in February. But again, the March result was much stronger than the figures seen in the second half of 2011, as well as in January this year.

However, it was not all good news. A negative balance of -15.3% of respondents said they were less busy now than a year ago, a pronounced fall from the figure of -1.8% seen in February

But overall the figures saw the CE Climate, a broad measure of confidence in the industry, move up from +6.5% in February to +8.7% in March. It was the fourth straight month that this indicator of sentiment had moved up, following the sharp dip in November when the Euro-zone debt crisis was at its worst.

In General, the March CE Barometer results followed the January and February figures, with another tentative move in the right direction. Confidence is still lower than a year ago, but a few more months of steady gains could see this rectified.

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