Construction Work Drops $4bn in Dec Qtr

Construction workers have been hanging up the hats and boots for longer as the sector dries up.

 

Results from the ABS December quarter Construction activity data showing further contractions in the sector with a $2.5bn drop in residential work and a $1.8bn drop in engineering construction activity in the December quarter, compared to the same period last year. It is a troubling sign for the Australian economy as it also seeks to absorb the impact of the drought, bush fires and coronavirus.

 

The Non Residential sector was the only sector to show some signs of growth with $400m more work than last year but still down on last quarter.

 

The seasonally adjusted estimate for total construction work done fell 3.0% from the previous September quarter to $49,773.0m in the December quarter with Engineering down -1.4%, Non Residential down -3.4% and Residential down -4.6%.

 

Residential by State

As indicated above, the seasonally adjusted figure for all states showed a contraction of -4.6% to $17,486M in the December quarter and -12.7% on the previous December quarter. This comprised;

• NSW down -4.3% (+7.6% above last year),
• Queensland down -13% (-16% below last year) ,
• South Australia up 1.4% (-6.5% below last year),
• Victoria down -1.8% (-2.5% below last year) and
• WA down -4.8% (-18% below last year).

 

Non Residential by State

The seasonally adjusted figure for all states showed a contraction of -3.4% to $11,451M in the December quarter but 3.2% above last December quarter. This comprised;

• NSW down -4.2% (-21.1% below last year),
• Queensland down -0.3% (16.5% above last year) ,
• South Australia down -5.8% (-4.3% below last year),
• Victoria down -2.7% (-3.2% below last year) and
• WA down -6.3% (4.9% above last year).