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LONDON, May 5 (Reuters) - The decline in activity in Britain's construction sector slowed markedly in April, a survey showed on Tuesday, helped by improvements in the housing, commercial and civil engineering sectors.
The Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply/Markit construction PMI index rose to 38.1 in April from 30.9 in March. That was the highest in seven months, but still well below the 50 level that separates growth from contraction.
Britain's construction industry has been hit hard by the global financial crisis as demand and financing for projects has dried up.
Tuesday's survey suggested conditions were becoming less bleak, however, and CIPS said the rate of decline in new orders eased to its slowest in eight months.
"The purchasing managers' survey offers hope that the rate of decline in construction activity is moderating," said Howard Archer, economist at IHS Global Insight.
CIPS said confidence in the outlook showed its biggest improvement in almost a year, with firms reporting company expansions, contract negotiations and promotional activities as reasons to be optimistic, although morale remained subdued by historical standards.
Hopes of a pick-up in business in the next few months encouraged firms to slow down job cuts, with the employment index hitting a six month high.
But CIPS warned that the construction sector was still far from a recovery. "It was another step in the right direction, but it will take a lot more to restore confidence, and therefore demand, in the sector -- let alone to pre-crisis levels," said Gemma Wallace, of Markit Economics, which compiles the survey.