THE construction industry’s growth is being stymied by uncertainty stemming from the General Election, it has been claimed.

A report says the sector slumped to a 22-month low in April, with companies reining back spending ahead of the vote.

The update, revealed in a Markit/CIPS purchasing managers’ index (PMI), said the election has caused output and new orders to expand at their slowest rates since June 2013.

It came after a similar warning over the manufacturing sector, when bosses also cited the ballot as the key reason for it posting a surprise slowdown to its weakest pace for seven months.

Referring to the construction industry, the report gave a reading of 54.2 for last month, which was lower than March’s 57.8.

Any figure above 50 separates growth from contraction.

However, despite the drop, the report said employment remains strong, causing sub-contractor availability to fall and pay rates rise at their fastest pace since April 1997.

Tim Moore, Markit senior economist, said companies’ confidence was still high, though the election was holding them back.

He added: “April’s survey highlights another growth slowdown across the UK construction sector, with new work expanding at the weakest pace for almost two years.

“The uncertain General Election outcome appears to have put some grit in the wheels of decision making.

“Construction firms widely noted delays with clients’ budget setting and a reduced propensity to commit to new projects.

“But, despite experiencing pre-election risk aversion among clients, construction companies indicated a strong degree of confidence regarding the year-ahead outlook, and, as a result, job hiring was robust and little-changed since March, placing further pressure on skilled staff availability.

“Taken as a whole, the survey presents a far more upbeat picture than the curiously weak official construction output data for the first quarter of 2015.”

Responding to the findings, David Noble, group chief executive at the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply, said he expected the slowdown to be short-term, highlighting sub-contractors’ important role in the construction sector.

He added: “Though new business growth has slowed for eight months out of the last ten, optimism is only slightly bruised.

“Sub-contractors continue to be the winners in ongoing work, being in short supply and demanding higher rates for their labour.”