Monthly construction output in Great Britain fell by 0.8% in May 2026, according to the Office for National Statistics. It follows a revised decrease of 0.1% in April and a 1.4% rise in March.
The decline was driven solely by repair and maintenance work, which fell by 2.1%. Private housing repair and maintenance was the largest single contributor, dropping 5.0%. New work grew by 0.2% over the month.
The broader picture remained more positive. Total construction output grew by 1.6% in the three months to May, the third consecutive increase in the quarterly series. New work rose by 1.1% and repair and maintenance by 2.1% over the same period.
Seven of the nine sectors grew in the three months to May. Non-housing repair and maintenance was the strongest performer, up 3.0%.
BCIS chief economist Dr David Crosthwaite said a marked contraction in new work drove the annual fall in output, with every sector recording a decline and the sharpest falls in private industrial and infrastructure.
He said confidence in commissioning new construction remains “very fragile”, with clients and funders delaying investment decisions amid geopolitical and domestic uncertainty. He added that some housebuilders had reduced land buying and slowed the pace of new site starts in response to the operating environment.
Crosthwaite said pressure was building on the new government leadership to provide the stability needed to unlock investment, given national delivery targets already in place.
Brian Berry, chief executive of the Federation of Master Builders, said the third consecutive quarterly increase was encouraging and that growth in repair and maintenance suggested homeowner demand had held up. Repair and maintenance is the core workload for many small building firms.
Berry said there remained “no room for complacency”, noting that momentum weakened towards the end of the period with repair and maintenance output falling in May. He called on the Government to accelerate planning reform, improve access to finance for SME builders and provide long-term certainty on housing and infrastructure investment.
The ONS publishes its next monthly construction output figures in August, covering June 2026.
