UK construction shrinks sharply in February

Britain’s construction output index has dropped sharply in February, raising fears of the country sliding into a triple-dip recession.

The Markit/CIPS Purchasing Managers’ Index showed the country’s construction output plunged to 46.8 in February from 48.7 in January, at its fastest rate in more than three years.

“There is barely a crumb of comfort in this month’s figures for the construction industry to ease the continued decline in performance,” said David Noble, chief executive at the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply.

“The dramatic fall in civil engineering activity is particularly worrying, having been the one bright spot in the second half of 2012.”

An earlier study by the Construction Skills Network also revealed that the construction industry has gone through one of its most difficult periods since the Second World War over the past five years.

Britain’s construction sector lost 60,000 jobs in 2012, while output fell 9 percent, in large part because of public spending cuts and lack of investment.

The collapse in construction sector activity was seen as a cause of financial crisis in the country at the end of 2011. Since then, Britain has been struggling with recession and limited growth.