New construction orders are at their lowest for more than 30 years, according to figures released by the Office for National Statistics.

The figures show new construction orders in the second quarter of the year fell to 9,502, a -16.3% drop on the previous year and the lowest seen since 1980.

Public sector housing and non-housing orders both dropped over -30% from the previous quarter, the ONS data showed, while infrastructure spending was down by a quarter. The ONS new orders data is typically volatile, showing big swings from one quarter to another.

However, the latest drop is unusually large, and the level of new orders has consistently remained about a quarter below pre-recession levels since 2008.

Also, the Markit/Cips Construction PMI index - based on a monthly survey of building firms - fell to 52.6, from 53.5 in July. Levels above 50 indicate growth. It is the lowest reading since the construction sector returned to growth eight months ago, and comes amid worries of a renewed recession.

With confidence reported to be at an eight-month low, firms said they continued to cut back on employment and sub-contractor usage. But while activity in the housing sector continued to shrink, and in civil engineering slowed sharply, there was a small pick-up seen in commercial construction, the survey found.