Figures released yesterday show that job numbers fell by 4.9 per cent in building companies in the 12 months to October. Barry O'Halloranreports.

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) construction employment index, which measures job trends in building companies with more than five workers, dropped to 101.9 in October from 107.1 in the same month in 2006.

The CSO said yesterday the fall was 4.9 per cent.

The index shows that job numbers in the industry have been falling with increasing momentum since April, when it dropped by 0.1 per cent.

The fall in October is the sharpest this year, and compares with 3.3 per cent in September and 2.4 per cent in August.

The slowdown in house-building is largely responsible for falling employment in the industry.

A spokesman for the Construction Industry Federation said yesterday that the organisation was not surprised at the figures.

"We're hoping that the stamp duty changes in this week's Budget will help reignite the market. And we hope that people will recognise that there is good value in the housing market now."

The CSO figures are based on a sample of 1,000 companies and include owner-managers.