Construction activity accounts for about 6.3% of the UK economy, according to latest government statistics.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has announced that output within the UK construction industry has risen by 2.2% during October, driven by a positive increase in house building activity.
New build activity rose 5.8% from the previous month; growth which has been attributed to the demand for more homes, and related schemes such as the Government’s help-to-buy initiative.
The figures mark a sharp improvement from September, when construction output shrank by 0.5%; however the latest report still means that output is up 5.3% on the year.
The ONS said: “Increased demand for housing could be spurring construction in the housing sector, buoying the housing market and maybe contributing to relatively strong growth in house prices, which grew by 3.8% in the year to September 2013."
It was reported though that construction growth was not so strong within the industrial sector, where it was termed as still being "weak and negative".