Construction in March grew by 26.4% year-on-year due to the weather

Prague - Construction in March rose in constant prices year-on-year by 26.4 percent. Overall construction output has thus increased for the fourth consecutive month at a double-digit rate, the Czech Statistical Office announced today. The significant growth is mainly aided by this year's favorable weather. Compared to the previous month, construction output adjusted for seasonal influences rose by 1.4 percent.
    Strong growth is recorded across the entire construction sector, which benefits not only from favorable weather but also, according to analyst Petr Dufek from ČSOB, from high demand for construction performance. "The influx of money from public and private sources, as well as the gradual inflow of funds from EU funds, stimulates demand for construction projects that has not been seen before. The construction boom requires growth in employment and wages," Dufek told ČTK, adding that some companies in the construction sector are already feeling a shortage of workers.
    After excluding the influence of working days, construction rose year-on-year by 28.3 percent. In March of this year, there was one less working day. Compared to March 2006, the volumes of construction work in all key areas of construction increased, with particularly high growth recorded in civil engineering.
    The number of employees in construction companies with 20 or more people rose in March year-on-year by 0.6 percent. This figure, however, does not include employees working for construction companies through employment agencies or foreigners working in construction.
    The average nominal monthly wage increased year-on-year by 11 percent to 23,063 CZK. In real terms, it rose by 8.9 percent. "Productivity per employee rose by 25.1 percent. Productivity per working hour increased by 26.3 percent," stated the Czech Statistical Office.
    Construction authorities issued 9,449 building permits in March, which is a year-on-year increase of 3.6 percent. A new construction law has been in effect since January of this year, which regulates the issue of building permits.
    The indicative value of buildings permitted in March increased year-on-year by 76.3 percent to 36.2 billion CZK. New construction will account for buildings worth 27.9 billion and renovations worth 8.3 billion CZK.
    In March, construction authorities permitted the construction of 3,609 apartments, which is 840 more apartments than in March 2006. Of these, 3,020 apartments will be created through new construction and 589 through the conversion of completed buildings. The indicative value of newly permitted apartments in residential buildings was 7.3 billion CZK.
    According to data published by Eurostat, in February in 27 EU countries, the year-on-year index of construction output, adjusted for the influence of the number of working days, increased year-on-year by 9.2 percent. Among the member states for which data was available, the construction output index rose the most in Poland by 57.1 percent, in Slovenia by 31 percent, in Germany by 30.7 percent, and in Slovakia by 25.6 percent. The largest decrease, by 6.6 percent, occurred in Portugal.