Archive:Specialised construction activities statistics - NACE Rev. 2

Data from April 2012. Most recent data: Further Eurostat information, Main tables and Database.

This article presents an overview of statistics for specialised construction activities in the European Union (EU), as covered by NACE Rev. 2 Division 43. As well as work on new structures, renovation, repair and maintenance markets are also important for enterprises in this sector, for example, for enterprises involved with installation, completion and finishing activities.

Table 1: Key indicators, specialised construction activities (NACE Division 43), EU-27, 2009 - Source: Eurostat (sbs_na_con_r2)

Figure 1: Sectoral breakdown of specialised construction activities (NACE Division 43), EU-27, 2009 (1)
(% share of sectoral total) - Source: Eurostat (sbs_na_con_r2)

Table 2a: Sectoral breakdown of key indicators, specialised construction activities (NACE Division 43), EU-27, 2009 - Source: Eurostat (sbs_na_con_r2)

Table 2b: Sectoral breakdown of key indicators, specialised construction activities (NACE Division 43), EU-27, 2009 - Source: Eurostat (sbs_na_con_r2)

Table 3: Largest and most specialised Member States in specialised construction activities (NACE Division 43), EU-27, 2009 (1) - Source: Eurostat (sbs_na_con_r2)

Table 4a: Key indicators, specialised construction activities (NACE Division 43), 2009 - Source: Eurostat (sbs_na_con_r2)

Table 4b: Key indicators, specialised construction activities (NACE Division 43), 2009 - Source: Eurostat (sbs_na_con_r2)

Main statistical findings

Structural profile

In terms of a simple count of the number of enterprises, the specialised construction activities sector (Division 43) was by far the largest of the three NACE divisions within construction (Section F) in the EU-27 in 2009. In total there were 2.2 million enterprises active in this sector, equivalent to 69.3 % of all construction enterprises and more than one in ten (10.6 %) enterprises in the whole of the non-financial business economy (Sections B to J and L to N and Division 95). These enterprises employed 8.7 million persons, equivalent to 6.5 % of the non-financial business economy workforce and 59.2 % of the construction workforce. They generated EUR 268 404 million of value added which was approximately 4.8 % of the non-financial business economy total and 52.4 % of the construction total. These figures suggest that the specialised construction activities sector is composed of a very large number of relatively small enterprises.

The apparent labour productivity of the EU-27's specialised construction activities sector in 2009 was EUR 31 thousand per person employed. This was the lowest apparent labour productivity among the three construction NACE divisions and was around 25 % lower than the non-financial business economy average (EUR 41.6 thousand per person employed). Despite this low level of apparent labour productivity, average personnel costs within the EU-27’s specialised construction activities sector were, at EUR 31.3 thousand per employee, above the non-financial business economy average (EUR 30.0 thousand per employee) and the construction average (EUR 30.6 thousand per employee). Low apparent labour productivity and high average personnel costs resulted in a low wage-adjusted labour productivity ratio – an indicator that is derived by combining the two previous measures. The wage-adjusted labour productivity ratio for the EU-27's specialised construction activities sector in 2009 was just 98.5 %, indicating that average personnel costs were higher than apparent labour productivity, a situation repeated in only three other NACE divisions within the non-financial business economy in 2009.

Often a low wage-adjusted labour productivity ratio is accompanied by a low gross operating rate (the relation between the gross operating surplus and turnover), but this was not the case for the EU-27’s specialised construction activities sector where the gross operating rate was 11.4 %, which was above the non-financial business economy average (9.7 %) and the construction average (10.6 %). This combination of a wage-adjusted labour productivity ratio below 100 % and a high gross operating rate is unusual – it also occurs for the computer and personal and household goods repair activity (Division 95). The relatively high gross operating surplus for the specialised construction activities sector occurs because of a combination of elements: there are many working proprietors and/or unpaid family workers in this sector, and so the share of paid employees in the total number of persons employed is low (69.7 % compared with a construction average of 75.9 %); this leads to a relatively low level of total (rather than average) personnel costs, which in turn results in a relatively high gross operating surplus. Nevertheless, it should be borne in mind that the large number of working proprietors and unpaid family workers need to be recompensed from the gross operating surplus, which should also cover depreciation and financial expenditure.

Sectoral analysis

Within the EU-27 the two largest specialised construction subsectors were electrical, plumbing and other construction installation activities (Group 43.2, hereafter referred to as the construction installation subsector) and building completion and finishing (Group 43.3). Together they contributed around three quarters of sectoral value added and employment in the EU-27 in 2009 – see Figure 1. The third largest subsector was other specialised construction activities (Group 43.9) which contributed around one fifth of sectoral employment and value added, between three and four times the size of the smallest subsector, namely the demolition and site preparation subsector (Group 43.1).

The productivity of the four subsectors varied from EUR 24 thousand of value added per person employed for the EU-27’s building completion and finishing subsector to EUR 40 thousand per person employed for demolition and site preparation. The range in average personnel costs was much narrower, although the highest and lowest values were recorded in the same subsectors: from a low of EUR 30.2 thousand per employee for building completion and finishing rising to EUR 33.0 thousand per employee for demolition and site preparation.

The low wage-adjusted labour productivity ratio for the EU-27’s specialised construction activities sector as a whole was pulled downwards by the building completion and finishing subsector, as the ratio for this activity was just 79.4 %; this was not only the lowest wage-adjusted labour productivity ratio among the EU-27’s construction NACE groups in 2009, but also the lowest among all NACE groups within the non-financial business economy. The wage-adjusted labour productivity ratio was also below the construction average of 113.9 % for the other specialised construction activities subsector and for the construction installation subsector, while it peaked at 122.5 % for demolition and site preparation, which was nevertheless below the non-financial business economy average.

In contrast to the wage-adjusted labour productivity ratio, the gross operating rate for these four subsectors within the EU-27 was within a narrow range: for the other specialised construction activities and construction installation subsectors the gross operating rate was close to the construction average (10.6 %); for the two remaining subsectors it reached close to 13 %.

Country analysis

In value added terms, France had the largest specialised construction activities sector among the Member States in 2009 and recorded the highest level of value added among the Member States across each of the four subsectors. France’s share of EU-27 value added averaged 23.5 % for the whole of the specialised construction activities sector, and rose as high as 32.7 % for the other specialised construction activities subsector.

The relative importance of specialised construction activities was also highest in France, as this sector contributed 7.7 % to non-financial business economy value added in 2009, ahead of Luxembourg (7.0 %) and Denmark (6.5 %). The Member States that were least specialised in the specialised construction activities sector in 2009 were Romania, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary and Slovakia, where this sector contributed less than 3.0 % of non-financial business economy value added.

The very low wage-adjusted labour productivity ratio recorded for the EU-27’s specialised construction activities sector in 2009 was a reflection of particularly low ratios in several Member States: two of the largest Member States, Italy and Spain, recorded wage-adjusted labour productivity ratios below 100 %, as did Greece and Ireland. Only one Member State (among those with data available) recorded a wage-adjusted labour productivity ratio for the specialised construction activities sector that was around the same level as its national average for the whole of the non-financial business economy, namely Bulgaria.

Despite recording the second lowest wage-adjusted labour productivity ratio among the Member States, Greece registered a gross operating rate of 23.2 % for specialised construction activities in 2009; this was more than double the EU-27 average and the highest ratio among the Member States. In contrast, Ireland recorded the third lowest wage-adjusted labour productivity ratio (below 100 %), but its gross operating rate was just 0.9 %, the lowest among the Member States.

Data sources and availability

The analysis presented in this article is based on the main dataset for structural business statistics (SBS) which are disseminated annually. The series provides information for each Member State as well as a number of non-member countries at a detailed level according to the activity classification NACE. Data are available for a wide range of variables.

Context

This article presents an overview of statistics for the specialised construction activities sector in the EU, as covered by NACE Rev. 2 Division 43. This division includes specialised construction activities, also referred to as special trades, in other words, the construction of parts of buildings and civil engineering works or preparation therefore. These activities are usually specialised in one aspect common to different structures, requiring specialised skills. Specialised construction activities are mostly carried out under subcontract, but especially in repair construction it is done directly for the owner of the property. Building finishing and building completion activities are usually performed at the site of the construction, although parts of the job may be carried out in a special (work)shop.

Demolition and site preparation includes activities of preparing a site for subsequent construction activities, including the demolition/wrecking and removal of previously existing structures, earth moving, excavation, landfill, levelling and grading of construction sites, trench digging, rock removal, blasting, and so on. Also included is building site drainage, drainage of agricultural or forestry land, site preparation for mining and test drilling and boring.

Construction installation activities include electrical, plumbing, heating and air-conditioning installation, as well as the installation of elevators, escalators, automated and revolving doors, lightning conductors, vacuum cleaning systems as well as thermal, sound or vibration insulation.

Building completion and finishing includes: plastering; joinery installation such as doors, windows, frames, staircases, fitted kitchens, built-in cupboards, shop fittings, ceilings and movable partitions; fitting or laying of floor and wall coverings of wood, carpet, linoleum, stone, tiles or wallpaper; interior and exterior painting and glazing; cleaning of new buildings after construction and other building completion and finishing work.

Other specialised construction activities include roofing activities such as the erection of roofs and roof covering as well as specialisation in one aspect common to different kinds of structures, requiring specialised skill or equipment: the construction of foundations; damp proofing and water proofing works; de-humidification of buildings; shaft sinking; the erection of non-self-manufactured steel elements; bricklaying and stone setting; scaffolding; the erection of chimneys and industrial ovens; the construction of outdoor swimming pools; renting (with operator) of cranes and other building equipment which cannot be allocated to a specific construction type, with operator.

This NACE division is composed of four groups:

demolition and site preparation (Group 43.1);
electrical, plumbing and other construction installation activities (Group 43.2);
building completion and finishing (Group 43.3);
other specialised construction activities (Group 43.9).

The information presented in this article does not cover the decontamination of soil (which forms part of remediation activities and other waste management services, Division 39), the drilling of production oil or gas wells (included within the extraction of crude petroleum and natural gas, Division 06), or oil and gas field exploration, geophysical, geological and seismic surveying (included in architectural and engineering activities; technical testing and analysis, Division 71). Furthermore, the renting of construction machinery and equipment without operator (classified within rental and leasing activities, Division 77) is also excluded.

Further Eurostat information

SBS - industry and construction (sbs_ind_co)

Annual detailed enterprise statistics - industry and construction (sbs_na_ind)

Annual detailed enterprise statistics for construction (NACE Rev.2 F) (sbs_na_con_r2)

Preliminary results on industry and construction, main indicators (NACE Rev.2) (sbs_na_r2preli)

SMEs - Annual enterprise statistics broken down by size classes - industry and construction (sbs_sc_ind)

Construction broken down by employment size classes (NACE Rev.2 F) (sbs_sc_con_r2)

SBS - regional data - all activities (sbs_r)

SBS data by NUTS 2 regions and NACE Rev.2, from 2008 onwards (sbs_r_nuts06_r2)

Dedicated section

Structural business statistics

Methodology / Metadata

Name of the destination ESMS metadata file (ESMS metadata file - ESMS code, e.g. bop_fats_esms)
Title of the publication

Source data for tables, figures and maps (MS Excel)

Specialised construction activities (NACE Rev. 2): tables and figures

Other information

Regulation 58/1997 of 20 December 1996 concerning structural business statistics
Decision 2367/2002/EC of 16 December 2002 on the Community statistical programme 2003 to 2007
Regulation 295/2008 of 11 March 2008 concerning structural business statistics