The latest Australian Industry Group Australian Performance of Construction Index (Australian PCI®), in conjunction with the Housing Industry Association was down 0.4 points to 32.2 in August(readings below 50 indicate a contraction in activity with the distance from 50 indicative of the strength of the decrease).
The Australian PCI® has now been in negative territory for 27 consecutive months.
The new-orders sub-index fell 5.8 points to 28.8.
Across the sub-sectors: house building rose to 31.5, commercial construction increased to 34.0, apartment building dropped sharply to 22.1 and engineering consecution fell to 35.7.
Employment continued to contract.
The selling-price index was 38.5 in August.
Survey respondents cited subdued conditions, a shortage of new tender opportunities, project delays and difficulty securing funding as impacting growth.
