Workloads in Scotland's civils sector are "on the rise" for the first time in two years, according to the latest CECA Workload Trends Survey.

The 2019 Q3 Survey has found that workloads in Scotland rose according to 27% of firms on balance, the first increase since 2017 Q3. This is in contrast to the rest of the UK, where both workloads and order books fell in 8 of the 10 sectors covered by the survey.

However, despite this positive news, we do remain concerned about the future outlook for the sector.

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The survey also found that no Scottish firms, on balance, reported rising orders. 6% of Scottish firms expected workloads to decline over the next year and 25%, on balance, expected a fall in new work orders. Employment has declined and costs are also reported to have risen significantly.

Commenting on the findings, CECA Scotland Chief Executive, Grahame Barn said: "We are obviously pleased that after two years of declining workloads, there are signs of light at the end of the tunnel however we remain concerned about the future outlook, given that ordered books remain stubbornly static.

"These are challenging times for the civils sector and with the ongoing uncertainty around not just Brexit but the future infrastructure pipeline in Scotland, we will continue to make the case for investment in infrastructure to be the top priority for both the Scottish and UK Governments."

(MH/CM)