Employment in construction falls by 7.5%

Employment in construction activities declined by 7.5 per cent to 78.1 points in the second quarter this year. Employment in the construction of buildings, civil engineering and in specialised construction activities declined by 5.1, 16.0 and 8.4 per cent respectively.

A year-on-year comparison for unadjusted hours worked indicates a decline of 6.4 per cent in the period under review. The largest decrease (-15.4 per cent) was registered in civil engineering. Furthermore, hours worked in the construction of buildings and in specialised construction activities declined, by 4.0 and 6.8 per cent respectively.

Wages and salaries decreased by 6.1 per cent on average. Furthermore, wages and salaries also contracted in the construction of buildings and specialised construction activities, by 4.4 and 5.6 per cent respectively.

Residential permit data for the period under review revealed a marginal annual decline of 0.2 per cent. Residential one-dwelling buildings all registered increases, while permits for two and more dwelling residential units went down by 10.1 per cent.