The ONS release of 13 February 2025 reported that construction output in Great Britain grew by 0.4% in 2024. Read alone, that figure suggests a market that changed very little.
The components told a different story. Repair and maintenance increased by 8.5%, while new work fell by 5.3%. An estimator working mainly on refurbishment could therefore have encountered conditions quite unlike those facing a contractor dependent on new-build packages.
This is a useful reminder to match market commentary to the work being priced. A national annual total does not describe the availability of a specialist subcontractor in a specific region.
Annual volume changes reported in the ONS release of 13 February 2025. Later statistical revisions may differ.
Use the statistic to ask a better question
If an estimate assumes strong competition, check whether the relevant suppliers are actually seeking work. If it assumes pressure on labour, identify which trades and which locations support that view.
The output figures can guide those enquiries. They should not replace them. They measure activity, not the price at which a particular firm is prepared to accept a future package.
There is also a publication-date issue. The annual 2024 numbers were released in February 2025. A review of an estimate prepared during 2024 should distinguish evidence available at the time from information published later.
That distinction makes a retrospective useful. It allows the team to learn from what happened without pretending that the eventual outcome was already known when the original price was prepared.