Construction activity declined for the third month running in March as most building sites remained shuttered due to Covid-19 restrictions.
Activity across all sub-sectors fell sharply, according to Ulster Bank's monthly measure of activity in the sector, but the pace of decline eased somewhat relative to the extreme weakness registered in January and February.
The bank's Purchasing Managers' Index is designed to track changes in total construction activity on a scale of 1 to 100. It remained well below the 50-breakeven point in March.
However, at 30.9, it was up from February's reading of 27. The decline in house building activity eased markedly as the quarter came to a close, the report concluded.