Archive:Civil engineering statistics - NACE Rev. 2

Data from April 2013. Most recent data: Further Eurostat information, Main tables and Database.

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This article presents an overview of statistics for the civil engineering sector in the European Union (EU), as covered by NACE Rev. 2 Division 42. Like buildings, civil engineering projects typically take much longer from conception to completion than most other products in different sectors. Civil engineering projects are often a key factor in urban regeneration, and also in maintaining or developing transport and communication infrastructure. The civil engineering sector is particularly cyclical as it is strongly influenced by government programmes, which in turn fluctuate as a function of government policies.

Table 1: Key indicators, civil engineering (NACE Division 42), EU-27, 2010 - Source: Eurostat (sbs_na_con_r2)

Figure 1: Sectoral analysis of civil engineering (NACE Division 42), EU-27, 2010 (1)
(% share of sectoral total) - Source: Eurostat (sbs_na_con_r2)

Table 2a: Sectoral analysis of key indicators, civil engineering (NACE Division 42), EU-27, 2010 - Source: Eurostat (sbs_na_con_r2)

Table 2b: Sectoral analysis of key indicators, civil engineering (NACE Division 42), EU-27, 2010 - Source: Eurostat (sbs_na_con_r2)

Table 3: Largest and most specialised Member States in civil engineering (NACE Division 42), EU-27, 2010 (1) - Source: Eurostat (sbs_na_con_r2)

Table 4a: Key indicators, civil engineering (NACE Division 42), 2010 - Source: Eurostat (sbs_na_con_r2)

Table 4b: Key indicators, civil engineering (NACE Division 42), 2010 - Source: Eurostat (sbs_na_con_r2)

Table 5: Key size class indicators, civil engineering (NACE Division 42), EU-27, 2010 - Source: Eurostat (sbs_sc_con_r2)

Figure 2: Relative importance of enterprise size classes, civil engineering (NACE Division 42), EU-27, 2010 (1)
(% share of sectoral total) - Source: Eurostat (sbs_sc_con_r2)

Table 6a: Employment by enterprise size class, civil engineering (NACE Division 42), 2010 - Source: Eurostat (sbs_sc_con_r2)

Table 6b: Value added by enterprise size class, civil engineering (NACE Division 42), 2010 - Source: Eurostat (sbs_sc_con_r2)

Main statistical findings

Structural profile

There were 101.5 thousand enterprises in the EU-27’s civil engineering sector (Division 42) in 2010. Civil engineering enterprises employed 1.63 million persons, equivalent to 1.2 % of the total number of persons employed in the non-financial business economy (Sections B to J and L to N and Division 95) and 12.1 % of the construction (Section F) workforce. These enterprises generated EUR 72.2 billion of value added which was also 1.2 % of the non-financial business economy total, while equating to 14.6 % of the construction total. For comparison, the number of civil engineering enterprises was a little more than one tenth of the number of enterprises within the population for the construction of buildings sector (Division 41), whereas employment and value added shares were more than two fifths, indicating that the average size of civil engineering enterprises was much greater than that of enterprises classified to the construction of buildings.

Average value added per person employed (apparent labour productivity) in the EU-27’s civil engineering sector in 2010 was EUR 44.3 thousand, which was above the construction average of EUR 37.0 thousand and very close to the non-financial business economy average of EUR 44.8 thousand. Accompanying this middle range apparent labour productivity was a slightly elevated level of average personnel costs: EUR 33.4 thousand per employee within the EU-27’s civil engineering sector compared with EUR 30.9 thousand per employee for the non-financial business economy and EUR 31.4 thousand per employee for construction. The wage-adjusted labour productivity ratio shows the extent to which value added per person employed covers average personnel costs per employee, and this ratio was 133.0 % for civil engineering in 2010, below the non-financial business economy average (144.8 %), but substantially above the construction average (117.7 %); indeed, this was the highest ratio among the three construction NACE divisions.

In contrast to the productivity indicators that were above the construction average for the EU-27’s civil engineering sector, the gross operating rate, which is a measure of operating profitability, was relatively low, 8.0 % for civil engineering sector in 2010 compared with a non-financial business economy average of 10.1 % and a construction average of 10.7 %; this was the lowest gross operating rate observed among the three construction NACE divisions.

Sectoral analysis

The construction of roads and railways (Group 42.1) was the largest civil engineering subsector in the EU-27, accounting for approximately half of sectoral employment and value added in 2010. The construction of other civil engineering projects (Group 42.9) was somewhat larger than the construction of utility projects (Group 42.2) in value added terms — see Figure 1.

The EU-27’s construction of other civil engineering projects subsector recorded higher apparent labour productivity, average personnel costs, and wage-adjusted labour productivity than the other two subsectors in 2010, as well as recording a higher gross operating rate. Furthermore, the other civil engineering projects subsector recorded values for three of these indicators that were above the non-financial business economy average: the exception was the wage-adjusted labour productivity ratio which was 144.0 % for the other civil engineering projects subsector, marginally below the 144.8 % average for the non-financial business economy.

The construction of utility projects subsector had the lowest values for these indicators, although its apparent labour productivity ratio of EUR 40.0 thousand per person employed was the same as that recorded for the construction of roads and railways. For both of these subsectors these productivity and profitability indicators were generally below the non-financial business economy averages, although average personnel costs for both of these subsectors were above the EUR 30.9 thousand per employee average for the non-financial business economy.

Country analysis

The largest civil engineering sector within the EU-27 in 2010 was in the United Kingdom, both in terms of employment and value added, with a 13.2 % share of EU-27 employment and a 20.0 % share of EU-27 value added. The next largest Member States, in value added terms, were France and Germany, both with more than 10 % of EU-27 value added. The 0.4 % contribution of Cyprus to EU-27 value added in this sector was the third highest share in 2010 by Cyprus among all of the non-financial business economy NACE divisions. Croatia’s value added in this sector was equivalent to 1.2 % of the EU-27 total, the second highest such ratio for Croatia in 2010.

The leading position of the United Kingdom in the civil engineering sector was, in large part, due to its dominance of the construction of other civil engineering projects subsector where it contributed more than half (52.9 %) of the EU-27’s value added; France had the highest share of value added for the construction of utility projects (19.1 % of the EU-27 total) and Germany the highest share (14.7 %) for the construction of roads and railways.

In value added terms, the most specialised EU Member State in the civil engineering sector in 2010 was Cyprus where 3.4 % of non-financial business economy value added was generated; among the non-member countries shown in Tables 4a and 4b Croatia was even more specialised (4.1 %). Romania, Portugal, Bulgaria, Lithuania and the Czech Republic were also relatively highly specialised in the civil engineering sector as more than 2.5 % of their non-financial business economy value added was generated in this sector. The relative importance of the civil engineering sector was much lower in some countries, as its share of non-financial business economy value added fell below 1.0 % in Italy, Denmark, Germany, Sweden and Ireland, as well as in Switzerland and Norway.

Nearly all of the EU Member States recorded a wage-adjusted labour productivity ratio for their civil engineering sector that was below the average for their non-financial business economy in 2010, the exceptions being Romania, Italy and Spain. The highest wage-adjusted labour productivity ratio, by far, was recorded in Romania (236.0 %), where the wage-adjusted labour productivity of the civil engineering sector was about one tenth higher than the average for the Romanian non-financial business economy (211.7 %). For the gross operating rate the situation was similar, with just four EU Member States reporting rates that were higher for civil engineering than for the whole of their non-financial business economy: these were Ireland, Lithuania, Luxembourg and Romania, the latter again recording the highest rate (17.1 %).

Size class analysis

Unlike the construction of buildings sector, the enterprise size structure of the civil engineering sector was closer to the non-financial business economy average, in that large enterprises (employing 250 or more persons) contributed more value added and employed more persons than any of the three other size classes shown in Figure 2. Across the EU-27, large enterprises employed 37.9 % of the workforce in 2010 and generated 41.5 % of total value added, broadly in line with the32.0 % of employment and 44.4 % of value added that was the average for large enterprises within the whole of the non-financial business economy. The apparent labour productivity ratios for the four size classes were relatively close, ranging from EUR 38.7 thousand per person employed for small enterprises (employing 10 to 49 persons) to EUR 47.9 thousand per person employed for large enterprises.

Large enterprises in the civil engineering sector were particularly dominant in Austria, Finland, Sweden, Romania, Slovakia, France and Portugal where they employed more than half of the workforce. Apart from in France, large enterprises also contributed more than half of value added in these EU Member States, as they also did in Lithuania, the Netherlands, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Spain. Among the Member States for which data are available, only in Bulgaria (2009 data), Greece (2009 data), Germany and Poland did enterprises in another size class (medium-sized enterprises, employing 50 to 249 persons) generate more value added than large enterprises.

Data sources and availability

The analysis presented in this article is based on the main dataset for structural business statistics (SBS) and size class data, all of which are published annually.

The main series provides information for each EU Member State as well as a number of non-member countries at a detailed level according to the activity classification NACE. Data are available for a wide range of variables.

In structural business statistics, size classes are generally defined by the number of persons employed. A limited set of the standard structural business statistics variables (for example, the number of enterprises, turnover, persons employed and value added) are analysed by size class, mostly down to the three-digit (group) level of NACE. The main size classes used in this article for presenting the results are:

small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs): with 1 to 249 persons employed, further divided into;
- micro enterprises: with less than 10 persons employed;
- small enterprises: with 10 to 49 persons employed;
- medium-sized enterprises: with 50 to 249 persons employed;
large enterprises: with 250 or more persons employed.

Context

This article presents an overview of statistics for the civil engineering sector in the EU, as covered by NACE Rev. 2 Division 42. This division includes general construction for civil engineering objects. It includes new work, repair, additions and alterations, the erection of pre-fabricated structures on the site and also construction of a temporary nature. This work can be carried out on own account or on a fee or contract basis. Portions of the work and sometimes even the whole practical work can be subcontracted out.

The construction of roads and railways includes the construction (and surface work) of motorways, streets, roads, other vehicular and pedestrian ways, bridges or tunnels, railways and subways. It also includes road painting and other marking, the installation of crash barriers, traffic signs and the like and the construction of airfield runways.

The construction of utility projects includes projects for electricity and telecommunications as well as fluids such as long-distance and urban pipelines, irrigation systems, canals, reservoirs, sewer systems, sewage disposal plants and pumping stations. The construction of distribution lines and related buildings and structures that are integral part of these systems is included.

The construction of other civil engineering projects includes: water projects such as the construction of harbour and river works, marinas, locks, dams and dykes and the construction or dredging of waterways; the construction of industrial facilities (except buildings) such as refineries and chemical plants; outdoor sports facilities; land subdivision with land improvement (for example, adding roads, utility infrastructure and so on).

This NACE division is composed of three groups:

the construction of roads and railways (Group 42.1);
the construction of utility projects (Group 42.2);
the construction of other civil engineering projects (Group 42.9).

The information within this article covers neither the installation of street lighting and electrical signals (which are included in NACE as specialised construction activities, Division 43), nor land subdivision without land improvement (included within real estate activities, Division 68).

Further Eurostat information

SBS - industry and construction (sbs_ind_co)

Annual detailed enterprise statistics - industry and construction (sbs_na_ind)

Annual detailed enterprise statistics for construction (NACE Rev. 2 F) (sbs_na_con_r2)

SMEs - Annual enterprise statistics by size class - industry and construction (sbs_sc_ind)

Construction by employment size class (NACE Rev. 2 F) (sbs_sc_con_r2)

SBS - regional data - all activities (sbs_r)

SBS data by NUTS 2 regions and NACE Rev. 2 (from 2008 onwards) (sbs_r_nuts06_r2)

Dedicated section

Structural business statistics

Source data for tables and figures (MS Excel)

Civil engineering (NACE Rev. 2): tables and figures

Other information

Decision 1578/2007/EC of 11 December 2007 on the Community Statistical Programme 2008 to 2012
Regulation 295/2008 of 11 March 2008 concerning structural business statistics