UK construction output slumps 4.8 per cent in Q1
12 May 2012
The UK's construction sector has shrunk more than anticipated in the first quarter, heightening fears that the nation's economy might have entered into a double-dip recession.
Data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) Friday said the construction output dropped by 4.8 per cent in the first quarter of 2012 compared with the fourth quarter of 2011, significantly lower than the ONS' preliminary estimate of 3 per cent a fortnight ago.
The output fell by 3.7 per cent compared to the same period last year, its biggest drop in three years.
In April, ONS said that the UK had fallen into a double-dip recession for the first time in four decades.
The nation's GDP registered a 0.3 per cent contraction in the last quarter of 2011, followed by an initially estimated 0.2 per cent for the first quarter of 2012.
Now, with the more than anticipated fall in the construction sector, it is expected that the nation's economy might have shrunk by 0.3 per cent in the first quarter rather than the 0.2 per cent as initially estimated by the ONS.
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