Construction Industry's confidence rating in Scotland has dropped by nine points since the last survey and now stands at minus 28 - six points below where it was at the beginning of 2011. Two out of three Scottish building firms responding to the survey expect publicly funded construction activity to drop in 2012. A third of firms expect construction employment to fall, outnumbering those predicting a rise in Construction Industry jobs this year by a factor of more than three to one. Statistics shows that the Scottish construction sector has already lost 30,000 jobs over the 12 months to September 2011. Most companies anticipate another tough year for housebuilding and the private sector.