A chief economist says construction has sustained the economy over the years, but it is now time for other industries to “step up” amid a construction downturn.

The Australian Industry Group has shown there has been a serious decline in construction nationwide.

Housing Industry Association chief economist Tim Reardon tells Ross Greenwood other sectors of business will need to sustain the economy.

“Home building has driven the economy for the past five years and now, as we slow down, we’re going to require other segments of the economy to step up to the plate.

“We’ve had a very sharp contraction in new home building, in fact, it’s the sharpest contraction we’ve seen since the introduction of the GST.

“But we don’t expect it to be a deep downturn.”

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