The latest GDP figures for Scotland show in the year to end-March 2009, the construction sector fell by 3.3%.

In the first quarter of 2009, the construction sector fell by 6.6%, compared with a 1.5% fall for the service sector and a 5.1% decline in the production sector.

Scottish Building Federation Chief Executive Michael Levack said: "The significant fall in output from the construction sector in Scotland is way ahead of the drops seen in the service and production sectors.


"These statistics show that the construction industry continues to bear the brunt of the economic downturn and that there’s every prospect that this decline will continue throughout 2009."

Mr Levack said this drop will have translated into a further loss of construction jobs in the spring and early summer of this year.

"Job losses in the building industry may not attract as much public and political attention as the job loss announcements we've seen in the manufacturing sector in particular. But they are just as damaging for the Scottish economy.

"The message that governments at all levels must draw from these figures is clear: Construction continues to need concerted support to sustain it through this painful and prolonged downturn," he said.

(GK/JM)