Statistics for May also showed businesses raising employment and purchasing levels in line with increased output requirements.
However, the expansion in activity was only marginal and a tough operating environment persists.
The Markit Germany Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) asks respondents to report on the actual change in their total construction activity compared to one month ago. It posted 50.6, up from 48.8 in April. Figures over 50 signal a rise.
The survey also found the sharpest rise in employment since September.
Driving the expansion was a rise in commercial building activity, the first such increase in the sub-sector since March 2012. Growth of work on commercial construction projects was only modest overall, but nevertheless sufficient to offset further declines in both home-building and civil engineering activity. The latter fell only marginally on the month, and at the slowest rate in its current 13-month sequence of contraction.
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