The nascent recovery in the construction sector appears to be gaining ground, following the publication of the latest Ulster Bank Construction PMI (purchasing manager's index) report.

The index, which tracks changes in construction activity, showed jobs growth in the industry for the third month in a row in November.

There was also increase in raw materials purchase, also the third month running an improvement has been recorded.

A figure of more than 50 for any measure tracked by the index indicates an expansion of activity.

The headline index dipped to 58.8 from 59.4 in October, but this still indicated a healthy expansion of the construction industry overall.

Ulster Bank said there was “a marked rise” in the employment index in November. The measure of new business growth also showed the number of new orders for construction firms increased for the fifth month in a row, and has reached its highest level since 2006.

The index figures for housing activity and commercial building were both above 60, but the overall index was held back by an index of 45.7 for civil engineering, signifying continued shrinkage in that part of the construction industry.

About two-thirds of the construction businesses surveyed for the index forecast a growth in activity for the coming year, pushing the businesses sentiment, or optimism, index to its highest level since July 2000.