Northern Ireland Construction Bulletin – Q1 2018 

The Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) today published the latest edition of the Northern Ireland Construction Bulletin.

The Construction Output Statistics published in the Northern Ireland Construction Bulletin provide a general measure of change in real terms in the output of the Construction Industry in Northern Ireland.

The results are primarily used by National Accounts in the calculation of the output measure of UK Gross Domestic Product. The results are also used by Northern Ireland Government Departments, Economists, Construction Industry Analysts and Academics to understand the state of the construction sector in Northern Ireland and the wider Northern Ireland economy.

Key findings:

*  This statistical bulletin provides users with the latest estimates of construction output carried out in Northern Ireland for Q1 2018.  It excludes work carried out by Northern Ireland Construction firms in other parts of the UK or elsewhere.

*  The total volume of construction output in the first quarter of 2018 decreased by 6.5% compared with Q4 2017 and was 6.1% lower compared to the same quarter in 2017 (Figure 1). This latest decrease followed four quarters in which the level of construction output has been broadly consistent.

*  The decrease in the overall output in Q1 2018 from the previous quarter was accounted for by an 11.8% decrease in Repair and Maintenance and a 6.7% decrease in New Work.

*  In Q1 2018, there were decreases in Other Work (9.1%), Infrastructure (7.5%) and Housing (3.1%) compared to the previous quarter.

Readers are advised:

*  Results, particularly those for the most recent quarters, are provisional and subject to revision, as later information becomes available;

*  The figures reported above are based on returns from construction firms and public sector bodies carrying out their own construction activity in Northern Ireland for the period 1 January to 31 March 2018;

*  Results are published as Chained Volume Measure (2015) Prices, Seasonally Adjusted, where appropriate.

*  Deflators adjust the value series to take out the effect of price changes to the volume series.  Deflation of construction output is carried out sectorally (i.e. New Housing, New Infrastructure etc) using a range of relevant tender prices and output price indices supplied by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).  Users are advised that these deflators are UK deflators and are not regional NI deflators.

*  Seasonal adjustment aids interpretation by removing seasonal variation due to climate, hours of daylight, holidays or other regular seasonal patterns.

The planned publication dates of the next four quarterly Constructions Bulletins are as follows:

2018 – Quarter 2 – 11 October 2018
2018 – Quarter 3 – 17 January 2019
2018 – Quarter 4 – 11 April 2019
2019 – Quarter 1 – 18 July 2019

For a copy of the Bulletin please access the following link:

https://www.nisra.gov.uk/statistics/economic-output-statistics/construction-output-statistics