Revenue continues to rise: construction boom continues in pandemic

Further increasing sales
Construction boom continues in pandemic

Many industries are suffering from the corona measures. However, work on the construction sites has continued at full speed since the beginning of the pandemic. Sales are now increasing for the eighth year in a row. This arouses desires in trade unions.

The German construction industry did good business even in the Corona crisis. With a strong end-of-year spurt, the construction industry increased sales in 2020 by 4.9 percent compared to the previous year, as reported by the Federal Statistical Office. It was the eighth consecutive year of increasing sales for the industry.

In December sales were even 18 percent above the same month last year, the preliminary figures showed. Almost all areas of the construction industry contributed to the upswing – with the exception of the construction of roads and railways, which remained slightly below the previous year's figure. The carpentry business grew the fastest at 13.6 percent. According to the Wiesbaden statisticians, the annual average number of employees rose by 1.5 percent.

"The construction industry is once again proving to be a pillar of the economy as a whole," declared the Main Association of the German Construction Industry (HDB). The VAT cut in the second half of the year also helped. Their expiry at the end of the year led to a strong increase in sales in December. "However, the pull-forward effects will mean that these sales will be missing in 2021."

Recognition for around 850,000 employees?

Booming residential construction in particular has been driving the construction industry for a long time. Most recently, however, the construction industry complained of reluctance among public clients and companies in the pandemic. The central association of the German construction industry (ZDB) recently stated that the situation of municipal budgets is very tense. "The federal and state governments continue to have a duty to ensure that the municipalities are able to act again this year." The municipal investment backlog in roads and schools should not increase.

The good business in construction arouses desires among unions. The IG Bauen Agrar Umwelt announced on Tuesday that it would work for a "strong increase in income" in the collective bargaining round starting in May. "While many industries are suffering severely from the lockdowns, work on the construction sites has been going on at full speed since the beginning of the pandemic," said Federal Board Member Carsten Burckhardt. For the approximately 850,000 employees, there must be recognition for their work under difficult conditions. In addition, construction workers would have to receive appropriate compensation for the long journeys to construction sites.

. (tagsToTranslate) economy (t) construction industry (t) Corona crisis