The Economic & Construction Market Review from industry analysts Barbour ABI revealed that the total value of all construction contract awards in October 2019 stood at £4.9bn based on a three-month rolling average.

This figure was a rise of 4.1% on the September total and 28.5% up on October 2018.

The number of contract awards grew by 22.4% in October to 864, up 4% on October 2018.

While contract award numbers increased last month, they remain volatile with indications of a downward trend for overall contract awards since January 2019.

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In the three-month period ending October 2019, the total value of contract awards was £14.5bn, 14% lower than the previous quarter and a 14.4% drop when compared with the same period last year.

The residential sector accounted for 28% of all contract awards, followed by the industrial sector with a 22% share.

Tom Hall, chief economist at Barbour ABI and AMA Research, said: “The residential sector has experienced slightly slower activity throughout 2019.

“There has been a small pick-up in London, but data shows that there is a cooling off in activity throughout the rest of the UK.”