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\t\tConstruction jobs continued to be slashed as cost inflation spiked in March.\t<\/p>\n\t\t\tWednesday 08 April 2026 11:34 am\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\tConstruction jobs continued to be slashed as cost inflation spiked in March.\t<\/p>\n
Construction businesses cut jobs at a faster pace in March while the month-to-month inflation rise was the largest on record in a survey that has existed for 29 years.\u00a0<\/p>\n
S&P Global said the difference in a reading for cost inflation<\/a> between February and March was the largest it had ever recorded since data collection began in 1997.\u00a0<\/p>\n The war in Iran pushed up input price inflation for March to highest level recorded for more than three years, according to the survey.<\/p>\n Fuel, transportation and raw material costs all piled pressure on construction companies which were already suffering from high labour and borrowing costs, the survey of around 150 firms showed.\u00a0<\/p>\n The large spike in inflation squeezed<\/a> profit margins and forced firms to cut jobs at a faster pace.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe drop in confidence during March wiped out the steady improvements in business optimism reported since the Autumn Budget,\u201d S&P Global economics director Tim Moore said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cEscalating inflationary pressures, gloomy domestic economic prospects and higher borrowing costs were widely cited concerns in March.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tRead more<\/p>\n \t\t\tBank of England: Businesses sharply raise inflation expectations\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n \tJob losses in construction due to \u2018weaker pipeline\u2019<\/p>\n The overall construction purchasing managers\u2019 index reading, which measures activity, inched up to 45.6 from 44.5 in February.\u00a0<\/p>\n It was higher than economists expected but remained far below the 50-figure benchmark for no change in activity, lengthening a 15-month streak of contractions<\/a> for the sector.<\/p>\n Capital Economics commercial real estate economist Kiran Raichura said the high inflation reading was a cause for concern given it was \u201conly likely to climb further as higher oil and gas prices feed through to construction costs\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n He also said a drop in confidence and expectations for new orders would lead to softer construction activity, even if the war in Iran draws to a close after a ceasefire.\u00a0<\/p>\n