Irish Construction: Ulster Bank PMI data for October indicated that conditions in the Irish construction sector worsened considerably over the month, as new business fell sharply and job shedding intensified. Cost pressures eased for the second successive month. The Ulster Bank Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) – a seasonally adjusted index designed to measure the overall performance of the construction economy – dropped to 31.2 in October, from 32.2 in September. This represented the second steepest decline in activity at Irish construction firms since data were first collected in June 2000. Companies attributed the latest fall to the wider economic downturn. There was a steep decline in commercial projects.