The recovery seen in the UK construction sector during 2010 appears to have "run out of steam", the latest report from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has claimed.
Austerity measures introduced by the government and a lack of commercial finance have had a profound impact on the industry, with the firm reporting an increase in the number of surveyors that saw their workloads fall rather than rise in the final three months of the year.
In addition, many working in the sector also had to put up with a rise in costs for equipment, with 56 per cent of surveyors questioned reporting an increase in outlay on materials.
"Although bad weather at the end of the year will clearly have had some impact on responses to the survey, the bigger picture here is of an industry under significant pressure as public spending cuts begin to bite, while there is little sign of a private sector recovery across large parts of the country," said RICS chief economist, Simon Rubinsohn.