MORE THAN 230,000 building workers have lost their jobs since the height of the construction and property bubble five years ago, figures released yesterday show.
Employment in the industry has fallen below 150,000 this year from a peak of 380,000 in 2007, a fall of 60 per cent, according to a report by DKM Economic Consultants.
The report, produced for the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland, states the value of the industry has fallen to €7.5 billion this year from €39 billion over the same five-year period. According to the chairman of the society’s quantity surveying professional group, the prices at which companies are now bidding for building contracts have fallen back to the 1999 level. However, while labour and other costs have fallen, the wholesale cost of materials has actually been increasing. Mr Nugent explained yesterday that this is partly due to rising oil prices, which have driven up the cost of transporting and manufacturing these materials, many of which are imported.
The number of new homes likely to be built in the Republic this year has hit an all-time low of 5,000, which is one for every 1,000 people. In the 1990s, this figure stood at eight per thousand while it hit 15 in the last decade. The report predicts there will be no real growth in the industry until 2014 at least.
Mr Nugent said yesterday there are signs the industry has probably reached the bottom. However, he warned that the industry has fallen so far that it is about half the size that it should be. The sector will amount to about 7 per cent of the economy this year. Mr Nugent argued that the figure should be about 12 per cent. “It is important we put measures in place to put the industry and the economy back on track,” he said.
“It is also important that we have a healthy and diverse construction sector that is capable of delivering education, health and enterprise and logistics projects that can help restore our competitiveness internationally.”
The report indicates that there will be some opportunities in the energy industry, where State-owned utilities plan some investment, and in retro-fitting homes to cut energy consumption.
