The National Statistics Office has said that according to a sample survey carried out among construction enterprises, employment fell by 5.8 per cent, wages and salaries declined by 3.2 per cent and hours worked went down by 5.8 per cent when compared to the second quarter last year.

Year-on-year data reveal that employment in construction activities fell by 5.8 per cent, on account of declines in employment in the construction of buildings and specialised construction activities of 4.7 and 8.5 per cent respectively. Employment within civil engineering increased by 2.5 per cent.

Wages and salaries declined by 3.2 per cent, resulting from a 4.4 per cent drop of wages and salaries paid in both the construction of buildings and specialised construction activities. This decline was partially mitigated by a 3.1 per cent rise in wages and salaries paid in respect of civil engineering.

During the second quarter of 2011, hours worked decreased by 5.8 per cent when compared to the corresponding quarter last year. Hours worked in the construction of buildings and specialised construction activities fell by 5.9 and 10.5 per cent respectively. This decline was partially offset by an increase of 6.0 per cent in hours worked in civil engineering.

During the second quarter of 2011, the number of units for which new permits were granted decreased by 17.4 per cent on account of a 20.5 per cent decrease in permits for apartments. On the other hand, permits for one dwelling residential buildings rose by 2.0 per cent. New permits for the construction of terraced houses and other residential buildings declined by 12.5 and 3.6 per cent respectively, while permits for maisonettes increased by 11.6 per cent.

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