New work on private industry (3.3%), public other (1.3%) and private commercial (0.3%) housing also dropped off from April.
The housing slump was mirrored with overall construction output – which fell by 1.3% in May.
Mark Robinson, chief executive of procurement specialist Scape Group played down the May slowdown however, as construction output still increased by 2.7% year-on-year.
He said: “Today’s data shows a fall in construction sector output, but you need to look at the big picture to understand what this really means and not focus too much on monthly fluctuations.
“April and May were affected by insecurity caused by the election, the threat of a mansion tax, and the prospect of an uncertain result post-election which unsettled the sector, but now we have a majority government we predict growth in output will continue on an upward trajectory.”
