BERLIN, May 25 (Reuters) - German construction orders fell 9.1 percent year-on-year in March, significantly less than in the two previous months, figures from the Federal Statistics Office showed on Monday.
The major German Ifo survey was also released on Monday and showed corporate sentiment rose for a second straight month in May, fuelling hopes that Europe's largest economy is exiting a record slump, although current business conditions remain very weak.
The construction data showed orders declined by 9.1 percent year-on-year in seasonally adjusted terms in March, compared with a 17.5 percent drop in February and a 24.4 percent slide in January.
The office said construction orders fell 16.4 percent overall in the first quarter compared with the same period in the previous year.
Average employment in the trade fell around 3 percent year-on-year in March to 676,000 people. Turnover dropped 1.5 percent to 5.7 billion euros ($7.98 billion).
Over the first quarter, average employment fell by 2.1 percent, while turnover fell 12.9 percent year-on-year to 13.4 billion euros. (Reporting by Sarah Marsh; Editing by Ruth Pitchford)