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Dezeen Wire: a 3% drop in output from the construction industry is being cited as a major contributing factor to the UK economy re-entering recession – BBC.

A fall in public sector investment contributed to the dramatic drop in revenue from the construction industry. Output from the production industries also decreased by 0.4%, while the service sector increased by just 0.1%, with the overall economy shrinking by 0.2% in the first three months of 2012.

Those involved in construction are calling on the government to ease spending cuts in order to stimulate growth within the industry. Judy Lowe, deputy chairman of industry body CITB-ConstructionSkills, said: “”The huge cuts to public spending – 25% in public sector housing and 24% in public non-housing and with a further 10% cuts to both anticipated for 2013 – have left a hole too big for other sectors to fill.”

On industry website Construction Enquirer, Noble Francis, Construction Products Association Economics Director warned: “With new orders for construction falling 14% in 2011, the industry is likely to endure further falls near-term.”

We regularly publish reports from the RIBA that track trends in workload and confidence within the architecture industry – see all our previous stories here.