Construction - March 2006

In March, seasonally adjusted total construction output at constant prices was down by 0.4% month-on-month. In terms of year-on-year comparison, total construction output at constant prices grew by 8.8%. The planning and building control authorities granted 9 120 building permits, which was 13.2% down on March 2005. The approximate value of constructions fell by 29.5%.
Seasonally adjusted total construction output at constant prices dropped by 0.4% month-on-month. The trend decreased by 0.6% month-on-month (see Table 3).

Year-on-year, total construction output at constant prices was up by 8.8% and WDA output by 7.4% (March 2006 had one working day more).

Construction work of contractors and subcontractors to enterprises with 20+ employees grew by 7.9% year-on-year at constant prices, of which new construction incl. reconstruction and modernisation made up 4.8 percentage points and rose by 5.5% (of which building made up +5.1 percentage points and grew by 8.8% and civil engineering made up -0.3 percentage points and dropped by 0.8%). The highest increase was recorded for construction work abroad, the highest decrease was registered for other work.

Employment in construction enterprises with 20+ employees grew by 1.3% in March. The average monthly nominal wage of employees increased by 17.3% year-on-year and reached CZK 20 753, the real wage rose by 14.1%. This increase in most construction enterprises was due to paid incentives and quarterly bonuses. The average hourly wage increased by 8.2% year-on-year and stood at CZK 135. Labour productivity per employee grew by 6.5% and labour productivity per hour worked decreased by 1.7%. Unit wage costs were up by 10.1%.

The planning and building control authorities granted 9 120 building permits in March 2006 (of which 4 705 for new constructions and 4 415 for renewals and enhancements). The number of building permits granted dropped by 13.2% year-on-year.

The approximate value of constructions permitted in March 2006 reached CZK 20.5 billion (of which new constructions made up CZK 13.2 billion and renewals and enhancements CZK 7.3 billion). Compared to March 2005, the approximate value decreased by 29.5%. The highest share in this decrease had renewals and enhancements (making up -18.4 percentage points, fall by 42.4%) and also new constructions (making up -11.1 percentage points, fall by 19.6%). The approximate value of other constructions dropped by 52.9% year-on-year (making up -19.2 percentage points, of which new constructions -4.1 percentage points and renewals and enhancements -15.1 percentage points). According to an analysis, the approximate value of permitted constructions in March 2005 was a multiple of that in March 2006. For example, roughly 6 times higher approximate value for railway optimisation was approved in March 2005 than in March 2006. A similar situation was in road constructions.

The planning and building control authorities permitted 2 769 dwellings to be constructed, which was by 1 124 dwellings fewer than in March 2005. Out of that, 2 175 dwellings will be built as new constructions (-892 permitted dwellings year-on-year) and 594 dwellings will be obtained by renewals and enhancements (-232 permitted dwellings year-on-year). The approximate value of newly permitted dwellings in multi-dwelling buildings reached CZK 5.7 billion.

The planning and building control authorities permitted the construction of buildings with a floor space of 645 183 m2 (-0.5% year-on-year), of which residential buildings made up 282 592 m2 (-31.1%) and non-residential buildings 362 591 m2 (+52.0%). The floor space of new buildings was 599 788 m2 and of renewals and enhancements 45 395 m2. The average floor space of 114.3 m2 per dwelling was permitted for new construction of residential buildings with approximate value CZK 21.2 thousand per m2.

Analysis - Construction in the first quarter of 2006

---

Note
Contact: Vladimír Zikmund, phone (+420) 274 054 252, e-mail: vladimir.zikmund@csu.gov.cz
Data source: CZSO direct survey in enterprises and planning and building control authorities
End of data collection: 9 May 2006
End of data processing: 10 May 2006
Related publications: /1-ep-8
8201-06 Construction
8202-06 Building Permits Granted

The data in Table 1 are preliminary and will be updated when data for April 2006 are published.
The data in Table 2 are final.