Commenting on newly released figures on employment in the Scottish construction industry in the second quarter of 2012, Scottish Building Federation Chief Executive Michael Levack has said signs of a rise in job numbers between April and June should be treated with extreme caution.

Mr. Levack said: "While these latest statistics show construction job numbers rising modestly in the second quarter of 2012, the industry remains in a very weak state. Since the beginning of 2011, we’ve seen employment in the Scottish construction industry fall by 9,000 jobs. Longer term figures show more than 40,000 jobs directly or indirectly dependent on the construction sector have been lost from the Scottish economy between 2007 and 2010. Recent output and insolvency figures suggest the industry still faces extremely tough trading conditions this year and confidence remains very low.

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"The Scottish Government is entirely right to put support for the construction sector at the heart of its budgetary priorities for the next financial year. We will support all measures that can be put in place to help rebuild the jobs, skills and capacity the industry has lost over the past five years. Those measures are not only badly needed by the construction sector. They are a prerequisite for delivering a sustainable long term recovery in Scotland’s economy."

(GK)