A sample survey carried out among construction enterprises in the first quarter of 2012 showed that employment indices declined by 5.0 per cent over the corresponding quarter of 2011. When adjusted for working-day effects, hours worked decreased by 1.4 per cent whereas wages and salaries increased by 1.9 per cent.

Year-on-year data reveal that employment in construction activities went down by 5.0 per cent. Construction hours adjusted for working days decreased by 1.4 per cent. The decrease in hours worked in specialised construction activities was partially offset by more hours in civil engineering and construction of buildings. During the period under review, working-day adjusted wages and salaries increased by 1.9 per cent.

Compared to the fourth quarter of 2011, seasonally adjusted data on employment and gross wages and salaries declined by 1.5 and 0.5 per cent respectively, while hours worked edged up by 0.2 per cent.

Seasonally adjusted data for which new permits were granted increased by 1.9 per cent over the previous quarter. Whereas permits for two or more dwelling residential buildings rose by 11.0 per cent, these dropped by 16.5 per cent for one-dwelling residential buildings.

This is the first short-term construction news release showing employment, hours worked and wages and salaries in seasonal and working day adjusted format.

Working day adjustment is the variation in time series caused by the changing number of working days in different time periods. Seasonally adjusted data allows for easier comparability from one quarter period to the following one.

These figures come from the National Statistics Office.

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