Archive:General construction statistics - NACE Rev. 1.1
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- Data from January 2009. Most recent data: Further Eurostat information, Main tables and Database
This article belongs to a set of statistical articles which analyse the structure, development and characteristics of the various economic activities in the European Union (EU). According to the statistical classification of economic activities in the EU (NACE Rev 1.1), the present article covers general construction, corresponding to NACE Group 45.2, which is part of the construction sector.
General construction comprises the building of complete constructions (or parts thereof) and civil engineering, and constitute the core activities of the construction sector. These two activities are the first stages of most construction activities, following on from the activities of architects, structural engineers and landscape designers. At the four-digit level of NACE, there are five parts to general construction:
- general construction of buildings and civil engineering (NACE Class 45.21), which includes most building work as well as engineering projects such as bridges, tunnels, and cable and pipe networks;
- the erection of roof covering and frames (NACE Class 45.22);
- the construction of motorways, roads, airfields and sports facilities (NACE Class 45.23);
- the construction of water projects (NACE Class 45.24), including waterways, locks and ports, as well as dredging work;
- other special trades construction work (NACE Class 45.25), including, for example, foundations work, pile-driving and scaffolding.
_Structural_profile,_EU-27,_2006.PNG)
Main statistical findings
Structural profile
_Structural_profile-_ranking_of_top_five_Member_States_in_terms_of_value_added_and_persons_employed,_2006.PNG)
_Expenditure_and_productivity,_EU-27,_2006.PNG)
General construction (NACE Group 45.2) was the largest NACE group within construction (NACE Section F), larger than all of the other construction activities combined in terms of turnover, value added and employment, but not in terms of a simple count of the number of enterprises. Close to 1.2 million enterprises were active in this sector in 2006, around two fifths of the construction total. These enterprises generated around EUR 300 billion of value added in the EU-27 in 2006, and employed 7.7 million persons.
A more detailed analysis of the EU-27's general construction sector in 2006 shows that the construction of buildings and civil engineering work (NACE Class 45.21) dominated the sector, with 70.5 % of value added and 71.6 % of employment. Other construction work involving special trades (NACE Class 45.25) was the second largest NACE class with 11.7 % of value added and 11.2 % of employment, larger than the specialised civil engineering activity of road building and the construction of airfields and sports facilities (NACE Class 45.23), and the erection of roof coverings and frames (NACE Class 45.22). By far the smallest activity within general construction activities was the construction of water projects (NACE Class 45.24).
The largest general construction sector in the EU-27 was in Spain; it generated EUR 62.7 billion of value added and employed 1.7 million workers, accounting for a little more than one fifth (20.9 %) of the EU-27’s value added and 21.9 % of its workforce. The United Kingdom's general construction sector was only slightly smaller than the Spanish one in terms of value added, but the workforce was much smaller. The general construction sector in Italy contributed a further 13 % of EU-27 value added, with both France and Germany contributing about 10 % each. The very large Spanish general construction sector was reflected in its high specialisation in this activity, as this single NACE group alone contributed 11.7 % of total value added in the Spanish non-financial business economy, although this was lower than the 12.7 % recorded in Cyprus.
In most of the Member States, general construction activities generated half or more of the construction sector's value added, although Sweden (45.3 %), France (44.9 %) and Denmark (44.4 %) were all below this level. Particular specialisations among other subsectors can be noted: the construction of water projects in Romania and the Netherlands; the erection of roof coverings and frames in Germany, Austria and France; road building and the construction of airfields and sports facilities in Hungary and Slovenia.
Expenditure and productivity
Tangible investment made by the EU-27's general construction sector was EUR 32 billion in 2006, around two thirds of the tangible investment made in construction as a whole, which was a higher share than the sector contributed in terms of either value added or employment. This sector's investment rate in the EU-27 was 10.7 % in 2006, only marginally above the average rate for construction as a whole, and well below the non-financial business economy average. In 2006, only Belgium and Italy[1] recorded an investment rate in general construction that was above the national non-financial business economy average.
General construction recorded the lowest share of personnel costs in operating expenditure (19.5 % in the EU-27 in 2006) among the NACE groups covered by construction, although this was still above the average for the non-financial business economy. Apparent labour productivity in this sector averaged EUR 38.7 thousand per person employed, some EUR 2.5 thousand higher than the construction average. In contrast, average personnel costs were EUR 27.7 thousand per employee, slightly below the construction average. The combination of a higher apparent labour productivity and average personnel costs that were typical for the construction sector as a whole, led to a wage-adjusted labour productivity ratio of 139.7 %, some 10.0 percentage points higher than the construction average, but 11.4 percentage points below the non-financial business economy average.
Data sources and availability
The main part of the analysis in this article is derived from structural business statistics (SBS), including core, business statistics which are disseminated regularly, as well as information compiled on a multi-yearly basis, and the latest results from development projects.
Context
Building and civil engineering projects typically take much longer from conception to completion than in many other sectors, and often involve a large number of sub-contracting enterprises with various specialisations. Construction projects are often a key factor in urban regeneration, and also in maintaining or developing transport and communication infrastructure. Nevertheless, construction projects impact upon the environment in a number of ways, notably the change in land use, the consumption of materials and fuel, the production of waste, as well as noise and air emissions.
Another characteristic of construction activity is that it is particularly cyclical, influenced by business and consumer confidence, interest rates and government programmes. The level of confidence among construction enterprises, according to the European Commission's Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs is presented in terms of a balance of positive compared with negative responses. This measure turned positive in July 2006 for the first time since June 1990, peaked in September 2006 and then became negative again in November 2007. During 2008, the fall in construction confidence accelerated and fell particularly strongly in the final quarter of 2008, such that by December 2008 the balance was down to -32.3 %. At the time of writing, with overall economic activity declining in many Member States, major public sector funding for infrastructure projects has been proposed by a number of governments as one means of stimulating activity and creating jobs.
See also
- Construction cost index overview
- Construction statistics - NACE Rev. 2
- Industry and construction statistics - short-term indicators
Further Eurostat information
Publications
Main tables
Database
Dedicated section
External links
Notes
- ↑ Bulgaria, Cyprus, Poland and Romania 2005; Ireland, Malta and the Netherlands, not available.