The Construction Sector is Recovering Well!

After three months of decline, in June of this year, the physical volume of construction work in Croatia increased by 8.5 percent year-on-year, according to preliminary data released by the Croatian Bureau of Statistics (DZS) on Thursday. The growth in construction work is a result of the lifting of economic lockdown measures implemented to curb the spread of the Covid-19 epidemic.

The measures were in effect from March 19, causing a decline in construction work for the first time since February 2018, and the decline in the volume of construction work continued in April and May. Thus, after a stronger growth at the beginning of the year (8 percent in January and 11.9 percent in February), there was a year-on-year decline in the physical volume of construction work in March by 0.9 percent, in April by 4.7 percent, and in May by 2.2 percent, while the June data shows that construction is beginning to show signs of recovery.

According to seasonally adjusted indices, in June this year compared to the same month last year, the volume of work performed on buildings increased by 9 percent, and on other constructions by 8 percent. The volume of construction work, according to seasonally and calendar-adjusted indices, also increased on a monthly basis, by 10.5 percent. Construction work on buildings increased by 12.2 percent, while on other constructions it increased by 6.6 percent.

In June, 50.4 percent of working hours were spent on buildings, and 49.6 percent on other constructions (e.g., transport infrastructure, pipelines, communication and energy lines, etc.). DZS data on the physical volume of construction work shows a slight increase in the second quarter of this year compared to the same period last year. According to seasonally adjusted indices, the volume of construction work in the period from April to June this year was 0.3 percent higher than in the same period last year. 

The original, unadjusted indices for the first six months of this year show an increase in the physical volume of construction work by 3.1 percent compared to the same period last year. 

{embed_digitalno_izdanje}{/embed_digitalno_izdanje}