<div id="readability-page-1">  <p><time datetime="2026-04-08T11:34:15+01:00">    Wednesday 08 April 2026 11:34 am  </time></p>         <div>    <div>             <div>             <p>            <span>        Politics and Economics Reporter      </span>                </p>          </div>  </div>                                                                                                             Add as a preferred        source on Google                        </div>    <figure>    <div>       </div> <img width="742" height="495" src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.cityam.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/1109-starmer-Building-site-1.jpg/query-dz03NDI?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.cityam.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/1109-starmer-Building-site-1.jpg/query-dz03NDI"/>  <figcaption>Construction jobs continued to be slashed as cost inflation spiked in March.</figcaption> </figure> <p>Construction businesses cut jobs at a faster pace in March while the month-to-month inflation rise was the largest on record in a survey that has existed for 29 years. </p><p>S&amp;P Global said the difference in a reading for cost inflation between February and March was the largest it had ever recorded since data collection began in 1997. </p><p>The war in Iran pushed up input price inflation for March to highest level recorded for more than three years, according to the survey.</p><p>Fuel, transportation and raw material costs all piled pressure on construction companies which were already suffering from high labour and borrowing costs, the survey of around 150 firms showed. </p><p>The large spike in inflation squeezed profit margins and forced firms to cut jobs at a faster pace. </p><p>“The drop in confidence during March wiped out the steady improvements in business optimism reported since the Autumn Budget,” S&amp;P Global economics director Tim Moore said. </p><p>“Escalating inflationary pressures, gloomy domestic economic prospects and higher borrowing costs were widely cited concerns in March.”</p><h2 id="h-job-losses-in-construction-due-to-weaker-pipeline">Job losses in construction due to ‘weaker pipeline’</h2><p>The overall construction purchasing managers’ index reading, which measures activity, inched up to 45.6 from 44.5 in February. </p><p>It was higher than economists expected but remained far below the 50-figure benchmark for no change in activity, lengthening a 15-month streak of contractions for the sector.</p><p>Capital Economics commercial real estate economist Kiran Raichura said the high inflation reading was a cause for concern given it was “only likely to climb further as higher oil and gas prices feed through to construction costs”. </p><p>He also said a drop in confidence and expectations for new orders would lead to softer construction activity, even if the war in Iran draws to a close after a ceasefire. </p><p>Jobs worries will also likely concern Labour government officials intent on hitting a target to build 1.5m homes by the end of 2029. </p><p>Pantheon Macroeconomics analysts said the declining number of jobs across construction came as a result of “weaker pipelines of work”. </p><p>Forecasters have already suggested the government would not hit its target while the effects of lower costs from planning rule changes may only be felt closer to the next General Election.</p> </div>

國泰中證全指建築材料ETF

住房建設 3 倍做多 ETF - Direxion

富國中證全指建築材料ETF

<p>建築公司因創紀錄的成本通脹而加速裁員，3 月份的月度增幅為 29 年來最大。伊朗戰爭加劇了投入價格的通脹，影響了燃料、運輸和原材料成本。儘管建築採購經理人指數略有上升，但該行業仍在經歷收縮。分析師對就業人數下降和工作管道減弱表示擔憂，這可能會妨礙政府到 2029 年建造 150 萬套住房的目標</p>

建築公司在史上最大成本通脹上升後大幅裁員