Construction employment down 15%

Construction workers were dealt another blow today with official figures showing jobs in the industry dropped by more than 15% over the last 12 months.

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) revealed employment in the sector plummeted to its lowest reading since records began more than eight years ago.

The Construction Industry Federation (CIF) said the figures confirm the volume of contracts available to firms have decreased across the board in recent months.

Dr Peter Stafford, research executive, said the international credit crunch has affected demand for new housing and commercial and industrial properties.

Some 270,000 people were employed in the construction industry when last recorded earlier this year.

The latest Quarterly National Household Survey (QNHS) will be released next week, which Dr Stafford said will give a more definite look at job losses in the sector.

"The CSO index of employment in construction only really looks at what is happening in the big companies, so next week we will see what's happening in the entire construction industry," he continued.

"It does not include smaller firms which could turn to repairs, maintenance and focus on specialist contracts.

"It will also give us a breakdown as to what's happening regionally and that's often quite telling."

The index is based on trends in approximately 1,000 private building firms with five or more staff.

It showed the base line figure dropped from 109.8 in June 2007 to 93.1 in June 2008 (15.2%), its lowest reading since the CSO study began in January 2000.

Dr Stafford said the problems being felt in Ireland are happening on the international stage and called on the government to stick with its national development plan.

He said civil engineering and maintenance were now growing strongly in the sector.

"The construction industry is also made up of different types of activity," added Dr Stafford.

"People want to renovate buildings, make them more energy efficient, and reduce their heating costs so that area is a big industry. Hopefully we can keep the construction industry growing in to these new markets."