Confidence in the building industry dropped further in the first quarter of this year, FNB said as it published its Building Confidence Index.

Confidence in the country’s building industry tumbled in the fourth quarter of 2008, according to a survey by FNB released on Wednesday.

Confidence in the building industry has increased marginally over the past quarter, but is still far below the level it was this time last year.

The FNB Building Confidence Index showed that confidence in the industry declined from 66 in the first quarter of 2008 to 50 in the second quarter.