Employment, wages, and hours worked in construction drop during 2011

The National Statistics Office said that employment in construction dropped by 7.4 per cent, due to declines in employment in the construction of buildings (-10.4 per cent), in civil engineering (-1.4 per cent) and in specialised construction activities (-5.1 per cent).

A drop of 6.5 per cent was also registered for wages and salaries due declines of 9.0 per cent building construction, 4.2 per cent in civil engineering, and 4.1 per cent in specialised construction activities.

NSO added that during 2011’s first quarter, the number of hours worked decreased by 6.6 per cent when compared to the same quarter last year.

It said that the number of hours worked in the construction of buildings and specialised construction activities fell by 11.6 and 1.0 per cent respectively. A slight increase of 0.3 per cent in civil engineering did little to offset these drops.

NSO also said that during 2011’s first quarter, the number of units for which new permits were granted increased by 25.4 per cent - due to a 36.2 per cent increase in apartments.

“This was partly offset by a decline of 16.7 per cent in one-dwelling residential buildings,” NSO said.

While new permits for the construction of maisonettes and terraced houses declined by 6.3 and 43.3 per cent respectively, permits for other dwellings increased by 54.5 per cent, it said.