- Tim Moore, senior economist at Markit
Activity in the UK construction sector retreated to its lowest level in nearly two years in April as companies put off decisions ahead of this week's national election, but confidence remained high and hinted at a post-election pickup. Markit/CIPS UK construction PMI declined to 54.2 last month, the lowest level in 22 months and down from 57.8 in March. Markit said there was evidence of construction firms delaying spending decisions ahead of the May 7 election. Yet, while confidence slid from the highest level in nine years in March, employment in the sector grew slightly, a sign that companies anticipated business to recover soon.
Britain's overall economic growth slowed dramatically in the first three months of the year, a setback for Prime Minister David Cameron who has based his campaign for re-election on the strength of the recovery. The UK economy expanded by just 0.3% in the three months through March, following growth of 0.6% in the last quarter of 2014. The drop was partly driven by a 1.6% contraction in construction, which shaved 0.1 percentage points off first quarter growth. Economists, however, said the first-quarter GDP weakness would probably prove to be temporary and the British economy would pick up.
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