The ONS had previously said that new orders grew 0.2% in Q2 2012. It has now revised this to a fall of 8.5%.
The updated figures also found that new work fell 0.3% year on year rather than growing 11.1% as originally stated.
This prompted the National Federation of Builders (NFB) to renew its calls for the government to step up its efforts to revitalise the construction industry.
NFB chief executive Julia Evans said: “It is time now for the government to take serious action to help SMEs in the construction industry to play their part in economic recovery. The government has acknowledged that construction is the backbone of the economy and a key driver in helping the country out of this crisis. This can be seen through their announcement of £40bn in the UK Guarantees scheme for infrastructure, and £10bn into housing, and we look forward to seeing this come to fruition. However, this investment must be available to businesses of all sizes, including SMEs, which make up over 90% of the construction industry.”
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