The commercial sector is largely to thank for construction growth hitting record levels.Progress has been shaped by a surge of new projects in QLD and across Australia.
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It’s an exciting time to be working in construction, as the sector rapidly expands, despite previous setbacks. This year has seen July shine, with construction growing at its fastest rate in 12 years, according to a recent report by the Ai Group and Housing Industry.
Industry conditions have risen from 4.5 to 60.5 points, which is particularly impressive, considering that any reading above 50 points reflects expansion.
“The buoyancy of the sector is evident in strong levels of current activity and employment growth and growing order books,” said Peter Burn, head of policy at Ai Group.
Although this survey reflects favourably on the residential, engineering and apartment building sectors, none fare as well as the commercial construction industry – which sits at its highest level in 12 years, after surging by 9.8 points from June to 64.3.
There are a combination of factors driving this improvement – including stronger business conditions and investor sentiment, competitive tendering, building backlogs and new orders.
This is the fastest recorded growth since the index was first measured in 2005. It’s good news for those working in the sector, since staffing levels and wages paid have risen at a higher rate than in June (by 3.7 points to 64.6)!
A surge in new projects is spearheading this progress. One need to look no further than Queensland to see a hive of emerging activity – including the massive $370 million construction of three hotels in Cairns.
There’s been a renewed focus on tourism and infrastructure building projects, which is driving growth in Queensland – since this is where the bulk of funding is being funneled. And the timing couldn’t be better. Peter Burn, head of policy at Ai Group says the recent boost in commercial construction work is expected to offset the anticipated wind-down in the apartment building and mining sectors.
There’s hope this surge will influence Australia’s economy in a powerful way.
