Construction production in the Czech Republic continued to fall in March with a reported year-over-year drop of 6 percent, up significantly from February’s 4.3 percent drop.
New data published by the Czech Statistical Office (CZSO) on Tuesday revealed that production in land and engineering construction was lower.
Building construction, which is the construction of residential and non-residential buildings, decreased by 4.1 percent, and engineering, which includes the construction of roads or telecommunications and energy networks, decreased by 12 percent.
“While the month-over-month decline was entirely driven by building construction and engineering construction, both segments contributed equally to the year-over-year decline,” said Petra Cuřínová, head of the CZSO’s Department of Construction and Housing Statistics.
At the same time, industrial production rose by 2.2 percent year-over-year in March, up from the 2 percent reported in February. The result was mostly due to the automotive industry, whose production was two-fifths higher than last March.
“The year-over-year growth in industrial production was most significantly influenced by the production of motor vehicles, where production increased by 42 percent year-over-year and by more than 10 percent month-over-month. In addition to the influence of the lower comparative base, this sector also saw an improvement in the supply of components,” said Radek Matějka, the director of the Department of Agriculture and Forestry, Industry, Construction and Energy.
Building authorities issued 6,805 building permits in March, 13.3 percent fewer than last March. The indicative value of permitted buildings fell by 6.3 percent to 44.1 billion crowns (€1.9 billion).
The number of new construction starts for apartments decreased by 21 percent year-over-year in March to 3,306 apartments, and the number of completed apartments was 2,549.
“The number of completed apartments decreased by 22.7 percent year-over-year, partly due to the higher comparative base from last March. Family and apartment buildings decreased at a similar rate, and the overall decrease was dampened by the additions of apartment buildings in particular,” added Radek Matějka.
The average registered number of employees in the construction industry also decreased by 1.5 percent year-over-year in March, while their average gross monthly salary increased by 12.1 percent year-over-year.
