Construction industry reports drop in activity, salaries and dwelling permits

Year-on-year data reveal that employment in construction activities fell by 10.0%, mainly on account of declines in employment in the construction of buildings (-11.5%) and specialised construction activities (-9.8%). Employment in civil engineering dropped by 1.8%.

During the period under review, wages and salaries declined by 4.8%, mainly as a result of a 4.9% drop in respect of the construction of buildings, and a 7.7% drop in the specialised construction activities.

On the other hand, wages and salaries paid in respect of civil engineering rose by 5.2%.

In the second quarter of 2010, hours worked declined by 12.6% when compared to the corresponding quarter of 2009. Hours worked in the construction of buildings and specialized construction activities fell by 17.2 and 10.9% respectively, while hours worked in civil engineering rose by 6.2%.

During the period under review, new permits for residential buildings declined by 3.6%.

Permits covering one dwelling residential buildings rose by 41.7% on account of a general increase in all types of one dwelling residential permits. On the other hand, permits for two and more dwelling residential buildings (made up of apartments) fell by 8.3% when compared to the corresponding quarter in 2009