13 January, 2015

Exerpts from the Construction Index

December’s figures for the Ulster Bank Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) showed that new orders also continued to expand sharply, posting 63.1 in December, signalling a further strong monthly increase in activity. New orders have now increased for eighteen consecutive months and respondents expect this trend will likely continue, as sentiment remained very bullish in December with approximately two thirds of respondents forecasting higher activity in twelve months’ time. The sustained expansion in orders and activity, along with high levels of optimism in relation to future business activity, meant firms continued to report increased staffing levels last month.

Higher new work and the prospect of further improvements in 2015 led construction firms in Ireland to raise their staffing levels again in December. The sixteenth successive monthly increase in employment was sharp, and broadly in line with that seen in the previous month.