In one year, the construction sector managed to attract more than 26,000 new workers. The sector now employs nearly 325,000 people, the highest number in the past decade. This increase is the result of “the reconversion of workers from other industries, more affected by the pandemic, and the use of labor from other countries”, with a focus on those where construction companies develop their international activities, such as the PALOP countries, says Manuel Reis Campos, chairman of the trade association AICCOPN. But the arrival of these professionals still does not solve the problem of staff shortages in companies. There is still a shortfall of 80,000 workers to respond to the flood of works to come in the coming years, namely that of the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR).
“The lack of manpower, estimated at around 80,000 employees, is one of the main obstacles to activity, as noted by 75% of companies operating in the public works segment,” emphasizes Reis Campos. And this despite the fact that employment in the sector showed a 9% year-on-year growth in the third quarter of 2022, now with 324,900 employees. According to him, employment in the construction sector reached “the highest level in the last 10 years” during this period.
prices slow down
In addition to the problem of a lack of manpower, which Reis Campos has repeatedly warned about, the sector adds the rise in the prices of raw materials, energy and building materials. It is true that the price increase in the last months of last year showed a slowdown and, in some materials, a stabilization, but not enough to relieve companies. The latest survey on the situation in the construction sector, conducted by AICCOPN, showed that the problem of rising prices for raw materials, energy and materials affects 73% of companies operating in the public works segment. The scarcity of raw materials and building materials was the third most cited constraint, cited by 43% of construction companies.
These difficulties do not prevent the sector from reacting to the volume of public investment expected until 2026. Reis Campos is compelling: “There is capacity to carry out the investments”. In reality, the planning and scheduling of the PRR, which had wanted to see construction completed last year, fell short of expectations. But now “all the conditions are met so that in 2023 it will be possible to carry out the planning and witness a significant increase in public investment, namely in housing, the planned investments of which amount to 1583 million euros”, says Reis Fields .
Investments in perspective
According to him, “the correct and prompt use of PRR funds, totaling approximately EUR 16 billion, is fundamental to the economic recovery and competitiveness of the country”. The Housing Access Support Program, which aims to help at least 26,000 families without decent housing, already has 216 municipalities with approved local housing strategies, he adds. The next step, which he calls “fundamental”, is to speed up decision-making processes in all their phases. The industry is prepared and so it is “unthinkable to contemplate the possibility that the PRR will not materialize as planned”. These government investments are of paramount importance to the sector, which, like the economy as a whole, is facing a period of great uncertainty given the risks of a possible escalation of the war in Ukraine or higher-than-expected growth in inflation and interest rates, swear it.
The construction and real estate sector ended 2022 with a growth of 3.4% in the gross value of construction, which totaled around 19,148 million euros. The civil engineering segment, despite the delays in the launch of the planned government investments, will have increased the gross production value by 4.5%, mainly due to the contracting levels that took place in 2020 and 2021, which amounted to 7,759 million euros. For Reis Campos, this achievement “proves the high resilience of companies in the construction and real estate sector, which have managed to overcome the consequences of successive crises”. The president of AICCOPN recalls that they were faced with global events, such as the war in Ukraine, the accelerated growth of inflation and the rise in interest rates, and sectoral problems, such as the lack of skilled labor, the increase of raw materials, energy and building materials.
Sónia Santos Pereira is a journalist for Dinheiro Vivo
Source: DN
