UK construction output kept falling in October, with the S&P Global UK Construction PMI showing the sharpest drop in activity for over five years.
The industry PMI dropped to 44.1 in October from 46.2 in September, staying below the 50.0 mark for the tenth month in a row.
This is the longest run of decline since the financial crisis.
Civil engineering was the weakest area, with its index at 35.4.
Business activity fell fast, with many firms saying there was not enough new work to replace finished projects.
Residential work also saw a big drop, with its index at 43.6, the worst in eight months.
Commercial building was more stable, with an index of 46.3, little changed from September.
The sector saw a continued fall in new work and a faster pace of decline since September, though not as steep as earlier in 2025.
Companies reported slow market conditions, fewer tenders, and delays in starting new projects.
Political and economic uncertainty made clients cautious about spending.
Staff numbers fell again in October, with the biggest cut in jobs for just over five years.
Firms often mentioned not replacing people who left.
Subcontractor use also dropped, but not as much as in previous months.
Demand for materials and products fell sharply, matching the drop in output and new orders.
This helped ease supply chain pressure, with delivery times improving for the third month running.
Input cost inflation was at its lowest since October 2024.
Looking ahead, most firms were still cautious, but business optimism improved to the highest since July.
About 34% expected output to rise, while 20% thought it would fall.
Hopes for lower borrowing costs and better demand in areas like energy infrastructure helped lift expectations.
Tim Moore, economics director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said: “UK construction companies reported another challenging month in October as the prolonged weakening of order books so far in 2025 resulted in the fastest decline in business activity for over five years.
“Civil engineering and residential activity saw the fastest rates of contraction, while commercial building showed some resilience.
“Reduced workloads were again widely attributed to risk aversion and delayed decision-making among clients, which contributed to a slower-than-expected release of new projects.”
Moore added: “Subdued demand in the wake of heightened political and economic uncertainty also led to the steepest drop in input buying since May 2020.
“Meanwhile, some positive signals for the construction sector in October included a slowdown in cost inflation to its lowest for one year, rising subcontractor availability, and a sustained improvement in supplier performance.
“Looking ahead, business activity expectations for the coming 12 months remained much weaker than the long-run survey average, largely due to worries about fragile investment sentiment and weak sales pipelines.”
He said: “However, overall optimism levels edged up to the highest since July as the prospect of lower borrowing costs reportedly helped to boost demand projections.”
