In September 2023, construction production increased on an annual basis

Construction production in September increased by 1.7% on an annual basis and was 0.2% lower on a monthly basis. Compared to the previous year, building authorities issued 10.2% fewer building permits, with their indicative value increasing by 11.2%. Compared to the previous year, 24.6% more apartments were initiated, while 25.9% fewer apartments were completed.

Construction production was 0.2% lower on a monthly basis but grew by 1.7% on an annual basis. On an annual basis, production in the construction sector increased by 2.2%, and in the metalworking construction sector, it increased by 0.5%.

Building authorities issued 6,095 building permits, which is 10.2% fewer than the previous year. “The indicative value of authorized buildings reached 46 billion crowns and increased by 11.2% compared to the previous year. This growth occurred in both new constructions and modifications to completed buildings. If we exclude constructions over one billion crowns and consider price developments, we see an annual growth of 2.5%,” says Radek Matějka, Director of the Department of Statistics for Agriculture, Forestry, Industry, Construction, and Energy at CZSO.

The number of initiated apartments increased by 24.6% compared to the previous year, reaching 3,127 apartments. “The annual growth in the number of new apartments was partly influenced by the low comparative base – last September had the lowest number in 2022. This year’s growth is mainly due to condominiums in Prague and the Central Bohemian region. Single-family homes continued their decline, which has lasted for more than a year,” explains Petra Cuřínová, Head of the Department of Construction and Housing Statistics at CZSO. A total of 2,340 apartments were completed, which is 25.9% less than the previous year.

Compared to the previous year, the average number of employees in construction companies with 50 or more employees increased by 1.6%. The average gross monthly nominal salary of these employees increased by 4.6% on an annual basis. According to Eurostat data, construction production in the EU27 in August 2023 increased by 0.2% on an annual basis. Civil engineering decreased by 0.6%, while building construction increased by 3.8%. Eurostat will publish the data for September 2023 according to the preliminary schedule on November 20, 2023.