Construction production in the Czech Republic returned to growth in January, rising by 5.4 percent year-on-year. The Czech Statistical Office (CZSO) reported this on Friday.
The data for December were revised by the statisticians, with a year-on-year decline of 2.6 percent. In January, the civil engineering sector, which is the construction of residential and non-residential buildings, prospered, while the production of civil engineering, i.e., the construction of roads or telecommunications and energy networks, fell year-on-year. On a month-on-month basis, construction output was 5.1 percent higher.
“In January, favorable weather conditions allowed builders to carry out all construction work without restrictions, and production rose 5.4 percent year-on-year. The growth was driven by civil construction, which recorded a year-on-year increase of 7.9 percent. The output of civil engineering construction fell by 4.2 percent year-on-year,” said Petra Cuřínová, head of the CSU’s Construction and Housing Statistics Department.
Building authorities issued 6,241 building permits in January, down 7.4 percent year-on-year. The indicative value of permitted constructions increased 35.8 percent to CZK 45.6 billion.
“January’s growth in the indicative value was influenced by the permitting of major transport infrastructure and non-residential buildings. After excluding them in the model and considering the price development, we will reach the level of January 2022 in the indicative value,” said the director of the Department of Statistics of Agriculture and Forestry, Industry, Construction, and Energy of the CSO.
The number of housing starts in January fell 8.8 percent year-on-year to 2,687 dwellings, while the number of completed dwellings was 15.4 percent lower at 2,981.
According to the statistics, construction companies continue to be plagued by a shortage of employees. The average number of registered employees in the construction industry decreased by 0.9 percent year-on-year, while their average gross monthly wages increased by 14.9 percent.