THE North-East's construction industry has seen its first rise in workloads for more than six years, according to new figures.

Industry bosses say work has stabilised thanks to extra housing and public schemes across the region, but warned the infrastructure projects sector remains precarious despite Government efforts to stimulate the economy through privately-funded schemes.

The results, revealed in a Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) report, come after The Northern Echo this week revealed more than 10,000 North-East construction posts had gone in the past two years.

John Dickson, chairman of the North-East Civil Engineering Contractors' Association, previously told the Echo the figures show the industry needs urgent help and has called on the Government to provide cash and give firms the opportunity to work on smaller projects to bolster order books.

The RICS survey says construction in the North-East is ahead of Northern Ireland and Scotland, where workloads are continuing to fall, but revealed experts remain cautious over any significant improvements, with profits likely to remain depressed.

Michael Henning, RICS North-East governing council representative, said: “Everyone in construction has had to adapt to the market challenges and there has always been a great positivity in the North-East to try and make things happen.

“It’s encouraging to see increased activity but in some areas there remains a lack of confidence, and appears to be no rush to get to the construction stage.

“These obstacles make it an ongoing challenging time for the construction industry, but we are working to overcome them.”