Construction output in Great Britain fell 0.7% in the third quarter of 2026 against the second, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said on Thursday, even though September itself brought a 0.8% monthly rise.
The September increase was the first after four consecutive monthly falls, and it leaves the quarter lower while construction prices are rising faster than earlier in the year.
The annual rate of construction output price growth was 3.2% in the 12 months to September 2026.
The ONS put the equivalent figure at 0.8% for the 12 months to March 2026, according to its earlier bulletin, and 2.7% for the 12 months to September 2025.
Five of the nine sectors fell in the quarter. The main negative contribution came from private new housing, which dropped 4.7%.
New work fell 1.6% in the quarter, while repair and maintenance grew 0.5%.
Output is measured as volume, meaning value adjusted to remove the effect of price changes. A fall in volume alongside faster price growth therefore reflects less work done, not simply lower spending.
Within the 0.8% monthly rise, new work grew 0.9% and repair and maintenance 0.6%. Infrastructure new work, up 3.3%, made the main contribution to the new work increase.
The earlier months were revised. August is now shown as a 0.5% fall and July as a 0.2% fall.
The ONS said the September survey turnover response rate was 76.6%, after first-estimate rates of 85.4% in August and 80.0% in July.
Total new orders, which measure contracts awarded for future work, rose 1.2% (£107m) in the third quarter against the second. The increase came mainly from public other new work and private commercial new work.
That follows a 10.5% fall (£1,238m) in the first quarter of 2026, which came mainly from private commercial new work and infrastructure new work. In the third quarter of 2025, orders had risen 9.8% (£1,078m).
Output rose 0.4% in the first quarter of 2026 and 0.1% in the third quarter of 2025, the ONS reported in earlier editions. Private new housing fell 1.9% in the third quarter of 2025.
The mix of work differed in those quarters. In the first quarter of 2026, repair and maintenance grew 3.4% while new work fell 1.9%. In the third quarter of 2025, new work fell 0.2% and repair and maintenance grew 0.6%.
Monthly output had risen 1.5% in March 2026. The ONS said anecdotal evidence from businesses suggested financial year-end pushes had increased output that month.
The monthly estimates are seasonally adjusted, meaning calendar effects and seasonal effects such as Christmas site shutdowns are removed.
The figures are accredited official statistics, reviewed by the Office for Statistics Regulation. The release contains revisions from July 2026 onwards.
The next release is scheduled for 11 December 2026.
