Last year until the end of September, the Czech construction industry was in 17th place among the 28 countries of the European Union with a year-on-year decrease of 6.6 percent, data from Britain are still being included. Czechia improved by two places year-on-year, compared to the end of the first half of 2020 where it was four places lower. This is according to data from the European statistical office Eurostat.
In EU countries, construction fell by an average of 6.4 percent in the first nine months. “Paradoxically, the Czech Republic paid extra for very low unemployment. After workers left the East, it was not possible to find enough construction workers in the Czech labor market. This led to the suspension of some projects. In addition, some restrictions from the spring period on construction and a number of other industries, “BH Securities analyst Štěpán Křeček told ČTK.
Construction output in Romania increased the most, by 17.8 percent, in the first three quarters. This was followed by Malta with growth of 5.1 percent and Croatia, where construction rose by 3.6 percent year on year. The sector grew in seven countries, above the EU average of 16 countries. By contrast, in Italy the construction industry fell by more than a fifth, in Britain and France by 17.9 percent.
“A comparison of year-on-year changes in construction output between countries shows that in many of them the industry pandemic has not brought to its knees. In particular, northern European countries but also Germany and Romania show that for them The construction industry is thus gaining in importance in these countries from the point of view of the economy as a whole, “added Pavel Sobíšek, an analyst at UniCredit Bank.
Due to measures against the spread of coronavirus, many foreign workers returned to their countries of origin, which, according to Křeček, led to a significant decline in construction output, especially in Western Europe. “It has become clear that the West is heavily dependent on labor from the East, and without mutual cooperation, European regions perform significantly worse,” said Křeček.
