This release was compiled during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results contained in this release reflect some of the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. For further information see Information Notice - Production in Building and Construction Index Q1 2022.
The volume of production in construction decreased by 2.4% in Quarter 1 2022 compared with Quarter 4 2021 on a seasonally adjusted basis.
On an annual basis, volume increased by 23.0% in Quarter 1 2022.
The Civil Engineering sector showed the largest quarterly decrease with a fall of 11.8% in the seasonally adjusted volume index.
The Residential sector increased by 2.8% in the seasonally adjusted volume index between Quarter 4 2021 and Quarter 1 2022.
The Non-Residential sector decreased by 1.7% in the seasonally adjusted volume index between Quarter 4 2021 and Quarter 1 2022.
The seasonally adjusted value index for All Building and Construction decreased by 2.2% on a quarterly basis and increased by 36.5% on an annual basis.
The headline table shows the seasonally adjusted volume and value indices for production in building and construction for Q1 2022, Q4 2021 and Q1 2021. It should be noted that the deflator (i.e., the Capital Goods price index) used in the calculation of the Production in Building and Construction Index has seen increases in recent months. See background notes and the Wholesale Price Index release for more details. Further information on seasonal adjustment is available in the CSO's video on Seasonal Adjustment.
| Seasonally Adjusted Production in Building and Construction Index | |||
| (Base Year 2015=100) | |||
| Volume Index | Value Index | ||
| Q1 2021 | 110.7 | 116.4 | |
| Q4 2021 | 139.5 | 162.4 | |
| Q1 2022 | 136.2 | 158.9 | |
| Quarterly % change | -2.4 | -2.2 | |
| Annual % change | 23.0 | 36.5 | |
Figure 1 shows the seasonally adjusted volume indices for All Building & Construction, Residential Building and Civil Engineering from Q1 2017 to the current quarter. The Residential Building index is the only sector showing an increase in seasonally adjusted volume in Q1 2022.
Figure 2 shows the seasonally adjusted volume indices for Q1 2020, Q1 2021 and Q1 2022. Non-essential construction sites were closed in early Quarter 1 2021 resulting in the large annual increases reported in Q1 2022. Activity in the construction sector remains lower than pre-pandemic levels with production volume in Quarter 1 2022 down 14.6% compared to Quarter 1 2020.
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (01 June 2022) released the Production in Building and Construction Index Quarter 1 2022 (Provisional) Quarter 4 2021 (Final).
Commenting on the release, Sorcha O'Callaghan, Statistician in the Business Statistics Division, said: "The volume of production in construction decreased by 2.4% in Quarter 1 2022 compared with Quarter 4 2021 on a seasonally adjusted basis. On an annual basis, volume increased by 23.0% in Quarter 1 2022. Non-essential construction sites were closed in early Quarter 1 2021 and reopened in a phased manner in Quarter 2 2021. This should be kept in mind while interpreting the annual sectoral changes.
Activity in the construction sector remains lower than pre-pandemic levels with production volume in Quarter 1 2022 down 14.6% compared to Quarter 1 2020. This is also the case in the Residential, Non-Residential, and Civil categories where activity levels remain lower than Q1 2020. However, the seasonally adjusted value index for construction decreased by 6.8% compared to Quarter 1 2020. It should be noted that the deflator (i.e., the Capital Goods price index) used in the calculation of the Production in Building and Construction Index has seen increases in recent months.
The Civil Engineering sector showed the largest quarterly decrease with a fall of 11.8% in the seasonally adjusted volume index while the Residential sector increased by 2.8% on a quarterly basis. The Non-Residential sector decreased by 1.7% compared to Quarter 4 2021. The seasonally adjusted value index for construction decreased by 2.2% on a quarterly basis and increased by 36.5% on an annual basis."